Goodbye, Apathy
by nawlins79
Summary: An AU fic where Andy and Sam meet again 7 years after a chance encounter - their backstory told through flashbacks.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. So I needed to take a break from This Rookie's Life and this is the end result. It is hybrid of Flashpoint and Rookie Blue – at least in this chapter. It is not a crossover and SRU will only make sporadic appearances. It is definitely an AU, but I plan to keep the characters as close to canon as possible. **

**Disclaimer: Do not own Rookie Blue, Flashpoint or any of its characters. This story is for entertainment only.**

**Reviews make my day!**

Chapter 1 – Drug Busted

"All right, coppers! Listen up!" Staff Sergeant Boyko yelled from the front podium in the parade room.

The rookies lined in the front row jumped slightly in their seats while the veteran officers continued to chatter idly amongst themselves. The rookies were in the middle of their second rotation on shift, the first week having flown by in a flash of B&E's, domestics and traffic calls. Whatever they had expected their job to be like straight out of the academy was vastly different from what it ended up being.

Boyko continued to stare out at the grouping of officers and detectives waiting patiently for them to quiet down. He was more than ready to move on to his newest promotion, but the higher ups were still debating between Frank Best and Noelle Williams to replace him as Staff Sergeant. He figured it couldn't hurt to end his career at 15 Division with quite possible the largest drug bust in Toronto history, so he waited patiently until slowly and surely the chatter stopped and all eyes were on him.

"Tonight is our lucky night," Boyko started. "A major drug bust is happening in just a few hours, facilitated by one of our own." He pushed one of the rolling white boards in the front of the room to the side and revealed another board littered with pictures and notes. "Our guy, Sammy, has been undercover for the last nine months," Boyko said, pointing to a picture of a dark haired, dark eyed guy with stubble along his jaw. The photo was definitely taken sometime after he went undercover, as it showed him and another washed-out looking guy trading cash for drugs. Sammy was looking directly at the camera like he knew it was there.

"Go Sammy!" Shaw piped up from the back and gave a high five to Noelle.

"He's been working this guy," Boyko continued and slapped a hand against another photo, this time of an older gentleman, well dressed, meticulously groomed and with fierce ice-blue eyes. "Anton Hill. He's the biggest importer of heroin into the city. And a shipment worth millions has been unloaded at his warehouse on the Lake. He and a small army of workers will be there in a few hours to pick up the shipment."

"What's the plan?" Noelle asked, a muscular woman with her hair in multiple braids, the only feminine feature she possessed – at least while in uniform.

"We're teaming up with Toronto SRU for the takedown. It's their operation, but we're there for arrests and any crowd control," Boyko replied.

There were groans from the veterans. Everyone knew that SRU thought they were the best and could handle any situation better than the local police force. Not a single officer walked away from a scene with SRU who didn't instantly dislike them, even though they worked with them every time a major warrant was issued. It was always good to have a sniper handy when trying to arrest drug traffickers and their ilk. It was a known fact the various city workers – fire and police (including SRU) tended to stay with their own. Each had their own particular after-hours stomping grounds and they stayed away from each other. Yet, they came together every day to keep the streets of Toronto a little safer.

"I know. I get the animosity, but we have to remember one of our guys will be in the middle of it. We need to get Sammy out safely and securely. He will be arrested and brought in with everyone else. No special treatment, so don't show you know him. Hill is not aware there is a mole in his organization. We can't risk alerting him to Sammy's identity," Boyko explained.

"When is this going down?" Brian Stone, one of the training officers, asked.

"We have two hours to organize and get to the staging area. We will meet with SRU there and get further instruction," came the answer. "Rookies!"

All had been listening intently, each praying for a chance to prove them selves.

"All rookies are to stick like glue to their training officers. There will be no heroics. You will follow instruction to the letter or risk being on desk for the rest of your careers," Boyko instructed sternly. "Serve, Protect and Stay Safe!"

"Wow! If this actually happens, we will be a part of history," Chris Diaz whispered excitedly as the rookies shuffled to their feet to follow the rest out of the room.

"I know, right?" Dov Epstein agreed with a slight squeal of delight. "Anton Hill has locked down all heroin traffic in Toronto, you can't buy any on the street that can't be traced back to him."

"How would you know?" Chris asked incredulous, holding the door open.

Dov shrugged his shoulders non-committedly. He wasn't about to admit his brother had had ties to lowlife drug dealers for the majority of his short life. That part of his life was over and it was best to move forward and not look back at the less than savory aspects of his life.

"Like they will actually let us do anything," Gail Peck sneered, rolling her eyes at Dov and poking Chris in the arm to get him to move and stop staring at Dov. "We're rookies. We'll be lucky if we get to baby-sit the squad cars, much less make an arrest of our own."

The rookies paired off with their T.O's and everyone else picked for the op, loaded up the squads with extra handcuffs, medic bags, Tasers and anything else that might be useful to have on hand. Those sent out on patrol were told to keep an eye and ear out for anything which could disrupt the op or show Anton Hill knew the police were closing in on him.

It was a solemn drive from 15 Division to the warehouse district along the coast of Lake Ontario. Sixteen squads from 15 Division pulled haphazardly into a large warehouse, there were already several unmarked cars and the unmistakable black SUV's utilized by SRU. A command center with numerous computers and monitors was set up along one wall with two people manning it.

Traci Nash, a quiet and studious rookie, sidled over to her T.O. Shaw once all squads were parked. The police officers stood off to one side awaiting direction. Most watched the activity surrounding the SRU officers avidly. Tension in the warehouse was so thick Traci thought it could be cut with a knife.

"Who are they?" Traci asked quietly nodding towards a group of plain clothes huddling around a table.

"Guns and Gangs," Shaw replied tersely. "Sammy reports directly to them. Detective Donovan Boyd is the head of the Hill operation, he's the only one who has had contact with Sammy while he's been gone."

"So he requested SRU?"

"Yeah, Hill is lethal. He kills for the joy of it. He not only runs heroin, but also has several underage prostitutes. He starts them young so they are dependent on him, when they're too old to hook anymore; he trains them to deal drugs. We'll need SRU for their snipers," Shaw explained quietly and then nodded his head towards a group of six.

Five were men and the other a smallish woman. All wore protective headgear; earpieces and a small arsenal of weapons were strapped to their bodies. Traci found two other groups of six and a huddle of three others talking, she assumed they were the commanders of each group of six. Her suspicions were confirmed when they split up and headed towards their own groups. Traci was impressed to see there was only one woman in the bunch and the amount of respect the others showed her.

"All eyes over here!" A loud booming voice yelled and all talking instantly stopped and all eyes were on the center of the room. Detective Boyd had a hard lined face, a no-nonsense voice and piercing blue eyes. He gave a slight sneer towards the rookies as though he knew exactly who they were and if given his way would be nowhere near his operation. Traci felt an instant dislike for the guy.

"In about ten minutes we'll start to see Hill and his guys show up for the shipment. The crates were dropped off earlier this afternoon from a cargo ship. We wait until Hill has started to load up his trucks and then SRU will issue the warrants. We expect them to run scared, so be alert and start arresting fast and efficiently. My guy, Sammy, will be near Hill. SRU is to arrest both Hill and Sammy. Stay out of the way," Boyd explained, walking around so everyone could hear him. He paused only once and that was to stare at the one SRU woman. Traci didn't see the look on his face, but she saw the woman visibly tense her shoulders and glare back at him. "If all goes well, we'll have Hill's organization behind bars before the sun comes up."

"Okay, let's keep quiet and let's be safe out there," a short bald SRU agent said. "Team 1, locate and stay with Hill. Team 2 will be on the roof providing back up and Team 3 will approach from the back," he instructed.

All three teams headed towards different exits from the warehouse. Boyko proceeded to instruct his officers and before any of the rookies were ready for it, the sound of cars approaching filled the air. The inside of the warehouse immediately went silent. Only the SRU agents peered out the windows and with a quick flick of the commander's wrist, they filed out silently into the night.

_Finally, finally_, were the only thoughts going through Sam's mind as he peered out the window from the backseat of a dark sedan, his boss, Anton Hill sitting next to him smoking a foul smelling Stogie. Nine months since Boyd had first dropped him off at a shitty apartment where he had one room with a bed, a hot plate and tiny fridge. He had to share the bathroom at the end of the hall with the other drug users and he had the warts on his feet to prove it. He could already taste the freedom of heading back to his townhouse at the end of the night. He could have a hot shower, a cold beer, clean clothes and cable TV. But first . . .

"See anything, Sammy?" Anton asked around the stogie in his mouth.

Sam pulled his gaze away from the approaching warehouses and back onto his boss. He scratched at the inside of his elbow, where he could still feel the prick of the needle from earlier that evening.

"Nah, s'quiet," he answered.

"Mmmhmm."

Sam went back to staring outside, occasionally scratching at his arm. He had gotten good at faking it when the others shot up around him, saline in the syringe was easily masked in a dark room with the others too out of it to really care. He only ever smoked some of the pot the junkies kept on them at the apartment, but it was more to keep him calm than anything else. He could take it or leave it. He had to keep up appearances. It wasn't hard, he barely ate as it was and he had lost a good twenty pounds, the stubble was easy to keep up and the clothes he had brought with him had become baggy with the weight loss and dingy from the few cleanings he managed in the ancient washing machine in the basement of his building. God, he couldn't wait to get home.

As they passed the first few warehouses and headed out towards the one securing the shipment, Sam felt the air crackle around him. He knew SRU was out there hiding, waiting for the optimal time to rush them, but he couldn't see them. A furtive glance up at the dark sky revealed nothing out of the ordinary. But they were out there. He had made the call to Boyd just that morning about the shipment coming in and where Hill would be, the fact that Hill would be there at all was a surprise since he preferred to stay at his restaurant to avoid being caught with the drugs, but a million worth of heroin was too great a risk to trust his guys with. It was the break Sam had been waiting for.

Once out of the car, Sam sent up a silent prayer for the night to be over with swiftly and safely. He walked into the warehouse behind Hill, his gun tucked in the back of his jeans, he had several knives strapped on under his clothes as well, but he didn't think he'd need them. He had caught a glint of silver on the roof of the adjacent building. Just inside the door, Sam turned to check once more, scratched at his arm and shut the door.

_Now or never_

Once, three years ago, she loved her job. The little thrill in her belly every time the hot call came in. The familiar weight of her weapons strapped to her body, knowing how to use each and every one of them. Even the constant chatter in her earpiece as they talked each other through the situation gave her a thrill. They were a family, five brothers and a father figure – they all cared about each other, in and out of each other's lives every day, it helped keep the stress and anxiety at bay, knowing that someone else had gone through the same shit as she had. They kept each other balanced, listened when the job got to be too much and celebrated babies, marriages and everything in between together.

Not any more.

She could feel the cool metal of the rings hanging between her breasts; she never left home without them on. She stood behind Ed waiting for the signal to storm the building. Team 3 getting in to position, now that the major players had arrived and entered the building. All exits were covered, Team 2 was scattered on the rooftops surrounding them. All were on the same channel to communicate. Any other night she would have preferred to be on the rooftop, but she wasn't in the mood to stay still. She needed a little action to get the blood pumping, to feel alive just one more time.

"_Count it down." Ed said softly, she could hear him in stereo as he used the mike for all to hear._

"_On three," she replied, her heart pounding, blood pumping, feeling alive. "One . . . Two . . . Three."_

It always happened fast, though it felt like slow motion at the time. The bang of multiple doors slamming open at once, windows being blown opened, the sounds of commands to raise their arms and drop their weapons, flashlights whipping around to see where some had fled. The harsh sound of boots echoing in pursuit as one by one the SRU constables chased after them.

Her eyes were trained on the elderly gentleman and stoned junkie standing next to him. They were the only two who hadn't moved an inch since the doors opened. Neither had weapons in their hands, the gentleman stood next to a table with bags of heroin and a measuring plate.

"Anton Hill, we have a warrant for your arrest," Ed said loudly, his gun trained on the man in front of him.

The man raised an eyebrow and flicked his eyes around the warehouse, as though slowly coming to the realization there might be a mole in his operation. The grin he gave before raising his arms chilled her to the bone.

Ed lowered his weapon and it was only then she realized the rest of the police officers were taking those arrested out and her own Team had their weapons trained on the two in front of them. Ed slapped cuffs on Hill, reading him his rights and leading him away.

She swung her weapon around her body so it rested comfortably between her shoulder blades, pulled out her cuffs and walked towards the junkie. He waited patiently for her with a grimace. She knew he was the undercover cop, but that didn't make her any less harsh with the cuffs, nor did the knowledge it was the first time she had seen him in nearly seven years.

The rest of Team 1 lowered their weapons but kept an eye out for anyone who may have escaped, shielding both of them on the way out. She brought him directly to an empty squad car, a typical cop with a slight paunch and balding head, leaning against the opened back door.

"He's all yours, Officer," she said softly and helped him in to the back of the car a little more gently than she would have for another offender.

Once the door was shut, they stared at each other for a moment, before she turned on her heel and walked over to her commander for instruction.

"Good work, Team!" Parker said. "We can head back to the station. We'll have a quick debrief and then I say we head out for a celebratory drink."

"It's good to see you, brother."

"You too, brother," Sam replied with a smile.

The Penny was packed, as it appeared all off-duty cops were celebrating the takedown of Hill. Sam had no intention of heading to the Penny when he had been let out of the holding cell, but after a hot shower had cleared his head and gotten the god awful smell of stale pot off him, the idea of his cold dusty house had lost some of its appeal. So, wearing a pair of too-big jeans and an old t-shirt he had found in his locker he headed to the bar to raise a glass to the end of the shittiest undercover op he had worked to date.

Ollie gestured to the stool next to him and motioned the bartender, Liam, over.

"Sam! Good to have you home," Liam said with total sincerity. "Double scotch neat, on the house for you, Sam."

They clinked glasses and drank.

Sam stared down at the amber liquid and felt his thoughts slip back to earlier in the evening. It had been a shock to see her, especially with a gun trained on him. He had barely recognized her in the uniform, until she got close enough, because for as long as he lived he would never forget her dark chocolate brown eyes, once filled with the inexperience of innocent youth they had looked at him with cold indifference in the warehouse – worse as if they had never met before.

"You gonna be okay, brother?" Ollie asked with a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied with a shake of his head. "Long and crazy day is all."

"True."

Sam didn't feel like talking and spent more time looking around the bar, a small part of him hoping she would show up. He saw Jerry eye a young skinny rookie, who gave him a raised eyebrow and quirk towards the back door. Sam's own eyebrows went up at seeing his friend follow the rookie out of the bar.

"Yeah, that's been happening," Ollie confirmed with a shake of his head.

Sam only stayed until his drink was gone, trading small talk with Ollie, but for the most part keeping silent. The whole night felt a bit surreal. That morning he had woken up Sammy Lowlife Drug Dealer and by the evening, he was back to being Sam Swarek Officer of the Law. He could still feel the drugs he had taken earlier in his system. The thought of a cold dusty house sounded more and more appealing as the night wore on.

"Hey, are you decent?" Sergeant Parker asked from the doorway of the women's locker room.

She had been sitting there fully dressed for thirty minutes. Debrief had been quick and painless, but once relieved to go change, she couldn't get further than sitting down on the bench in front of her locker. Her arms rested on her knees and she watched as the chain around her neck swung back and forth, the rings hanging from them twinkling in the light.

"Yeah, Boss," she said quietly, her hands clasped tightly together.

Greg Parker eased in to the room and sat down beside her. She wouldn't look at him. He swallowed around a lump in his throat at the sight of the rings. Three months later and the pain of loss took his breath away.

"We're heading over to Lucky's for food and drinks," he began. "I think the guys would like to send you off in style."

She shook her head and closed her eyes against the sudden onslaught of tears. "I can't," she whispered.

Greg nodded. "We're going to miss you around here," he stated softly. "You'll be hard to replace. You'll both be hard to replace," he amended quietly.

She nodded once and glanced over at him.

"You did great today. You're one of the best we've had. Team 1 wouldn't have been the same without you. It won't be the same," Greg said.

"Thanks," she replied.

"No matter what," he said with a grin, "you'll always be welcome at Lucky's, just don't be a stranger."

"Thank you, Boss," she answered, tears spilling over.

Greg wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. "I'll let the guys know you'll stop by later," he said, standing up a minute later. Off her look, he added, "they'll understand when you don't show."

She nodded and stood up to clear out her locker.

"Hey," Greg said from the doorway, one hand on the knob and turned towards her. She looked over at him with an expectant look. "Good luck, McNally."


	2. Chapter 2  First Day Jitters

**And here is the second chapter in which some questions are answered. Hope y'all enjoy. Leave a review, I love 'em!**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

Chapter Two – First Day Jitters

"I am freaking out, Jules!" Andy said hurriedly, her hands twisting and pulling her dark hair into some semblance of order on the top of her head.

"Breathe, girl, you're going to do great," Came the reply, slightly muffled and with an echo.

Andy glanced down at her iPad she had propped against her jewelry box on top of her bureau. Her best friend Jules Callahan looked back at her with a smirk. Andy had called her on Skype right after waking up with bats in her stomach. No ordinary butterflies for Andy McNally, she had to have freaking giant bats flapping around her stomach instead.

"Easy for you to say," Andy muttered, holding up two different earrings to show Jules, who pointed to the left pair and shook her head when Andy raised her right hand instead. "You're not the one walking in to the same division your father was kindly asked to retire from and then escorted out of."

"Quite complaining, you knew there was the possibility of being assigned to 15 when you put in the transfer," Jules reminded her. She took a sip of her orange juice and glanced behind her.

"Someone with you?" Andy asked, her gaze landing on and holding Jules' eyes. "A certain tall attractive blond?"

Jules grinned and shrugged, "don't change the subject."

"Fine. I was praying for 36 or 27," Andy said exasperatedly. "I even went to confession," she admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Seriously? What did you confess to?" Jules giggled.

Andy moved away from the bureau to the closet to grab her beat to hell black boots. "What is said in confession is supposed to be private and between me, my priest and God," Andy stated, going back over to the bureau and gave herself a good look.

"Right, sure it is," Jules replied with a knowing smile. "You have no reason to be ashamed about your dad and what went down with him. You are a strong independent badass woman who can probably give every single one of the veteran cops a run for their money in hand to hand defense, drawing a weapon . . . I could go on," Jules said with a little sass.

Andy groaned, picked up the iPad and headed towards the living room. She propped it against a cushion on the sofa. She pulled a foot up onto the coffee table to shove her boot on.

"Nuh-uh, you are not wearing your craptastic boots with that outfit!" Jules exclaimed, shaking her head wildly. "You are wearing your grey heeled booties."

"Jules! Those have nearly four inch heels, I am not wearing those all day!" Andy protested.

"Yes, you are! You are not spending the day chasing down bad guys. You'll most likely spend the day behind a desk," Jules replied. She glanced back behind her and made a waving motion with her hand and shook her head.

"He is totally there, isn't he?" Andy asked. "Hey, Braddock, you might as well come out of hiding," she raised her voice even though he could probably hear her just fine.

A moment later, Sam Braddock appeared on the screen. "Hey, sweetie! Don' worry I didn't see or hear anything incriminating."

"Look, wear the booties, it'll make you feel invincible. You're going to do great," Jules reiterated, her face close to Sam's so she could both of them.

"Yeah, you aced the exams, you're a natural," Sam agreed with a wide smile.

"Okay," Andy breathed, trying to calm her racing heart. "I'll call tonight to let you know how it went."

Sam and Jules agreed, calling out good-byes and best wishes as the line went dead.

Andy trudged back in to her bedroom, threw the boots towards the back of the closet with a mental note to just throw them away at some point and grabbed the box with the booties. They had been an impulse buy after she found out she had passed the exams with flying colors. Jules had gone with her and practically dragged her to the check out counter to purchase them. They were suede and ridiculously expensive, but she loved how they looked on her.

She slipped on the shoes and went to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room to take stock of her appearance. Not bad, she thought. The glint of her necklace caught her eye and with a frown she pulled it out of the neckline of her shirt. Shaking her head, she dropped it back under her shirt and walked briskly out of the bedroom.

Once in the living room, Andy grabbed her purse and slung it across her shoulder. On the table just inside the front door, her hip holster and service weapon sat beside a handmade wicker basket filled with seashells. As though in a trance, she clipped her holster to her belt and pocketed her car keys, never once taking her eyes off the picture beside the bowl. With a hard shake of her head, she took off the chain, removed her rings and put the chain back around her neck feeling the heavy weight settle between her breasts. Andy let out a shaky breath as she felt the cool familiar weight of her wedding band and engagement ring settle on her finger. She kissed her fingers, pressed them briefly to the face in the picture and left.

It was nearly time for parade when Sam finally pulled his truck into the division parking lot. He had spent the better part of three weeks at Headquarters getting debriefed by Boyd and his superiors, cleaning his house, visiting his sister and just acclimating back to civilian life. He had been given the choice of manning the wire room at GnG or back to patrol the streets. He refused to sit in a dark cramped room listening to other UC's, which is why he found himself staring at 15 Division trying to remember how to patrol.

A quick pound on the window caused him to jump. Ollie stood outside grinning at him goofily. Sam smirked and climbed out of the truck.

"So, back in the trenches, huh?" Ollie asked as they headed in.

"Just until another UC opens up," Sam replied, slapping his hand on Ollie's back. "What did I miss?"

"New rookies, four of 'em. One is a Peck . . .," Ollie answered, nodding towards a svelte blond with ruby red lips sulking at the coffee machine.

Sam whistled low and took a quick survey of the bullpen. Most officers were heading towards the parade room, faint sounds of dry firing in the weapons room and the clink of lockers echoing as the doors to the locker rooms opened and closed. Very little had changed and Sam took comfort in that. It was like coming home. His eyes landed on the Staff Sergeant's office and then his eyebrows rose high into his hairline.

"Yeah, Frank Best is the new Staff Sergeant. Boyko moved on to a promotion about a week ago," Ollie stated.

Best behind the desk had nothing to do with Sam's reaction and everything to do with the woman sitting in the chair opposite him. They were in deep conversation and as he watched, Best handed her a badge with a smile. Sam turned on his heel and fled down the corridor to the men's locker room, his heart pounding in his throat.

"Sam!" Ollie called after him, but got nothing in reply except the slamming of the door. "What the hell?"

Andy stroked her brand new badge and felt tears spring into her eyes. She blinked them away quickly and raised her eyes to look at her new boss. He gave her a wide smile flashing brilliant white teeth. She had liked him immediately, he didn't have the father vibe she had gotten from Parker, but he was open, friendly and straightforward with what he expected of her and that was a good feeling.

"We have three teams of two homicide detectives. You'll work six days on and then two off with the third being on-call and then it starts over," Best explained, his eyes boring into hers.

Andy nodded.

"You're considered a rookie, so expect grunt work," he continued.

"Coffee runs, copying, observing," Andy recited with a small grin. Now that she was there learning her new duties, she was excited. A moment of panic in the parking lot had set in, but faded as she followed two guys in, they had been arguing about an Xbox game.

"I'm going to partner you with Detectives Callaghan and Barber. You'll be on the same schedule as them. We might switch it up with the others in the future, but they are the best to train you," Best went on as though she hadn't interrupted. "We have parade at the beginning of every shift, detectives aren't required to attend, but most do and a lot of times one will lead parade if there is a particular homicide that needs to be addressed."

She had vivid memories of attending parade some mornings with her father when she was younger. He would bring her, they'd have a coffee together and then he'd take the cruiser to drop her off at school. Those were during the days after her mom had left and he didn't want her out of his sight unless at school. It would be interesting to see parade as a participant.

"Why don't I introduce you to Callaghan and Barber?" Best said standing up.

Andy mentally shook her self to clear out the memories, stood up, slipped her new badge onto her belt, checked her weapon and followed him out of the office. She was surprised to see the bullpen nearly empty, just a handful hanging around. She followed Best to an office she would recognize anywhere.

"Hey, Callaghan! Barber!" Best yelled from the doorway, ushering her in.

A lanky blond turned away from a white board covered in pictures and notes and headed towards them. The other was shorter with slick black hair, goatee and an expensive looking suit walked over.

"Guys, this is Andy McNally," Best introduced. They all shook hands and exchanged hellos. "She is our newest homicide Detective. Passed her exams with the highest score to date," he explained.

Both guys looked impressed. The tall one, Luke, had obvious interest in his eyes and she was glad she had put her rings on before leaving. Jerry Barber had a voice like silk and a glint of humor in his eyes. Andy had been expecting to be paired with detectives more her father's age than two closer to her own. It would make for an interesting time.

"We'll take good care of her, Sarge," Jerry said, bumping shoulders with her.

"I want you at parade to introduce Andy and welcome her to 15," Best said and strode out of the room.

They all looked at each other, Callaghan and Barber communicating to each other with their eyes, Andy figured they came up with some agreement because Callaghan . . .Luke . . .gestured for her to head towards the parade room.

"Jerry avoids parade any chance he gets. Most likely we'll just send you the next few shifts until you get a feel for what goes on around here," Luke explained, his hand rested lightly on her back as he ushered her forward. Andy tensed a bit at the contact, but grit her teeth and bore it.

He knew exactly when she entered the parade room. The conversations in the back of the room stalled for a moment before picking back up. He stood with Oliver along the back wall, his arms folded across his chest. His uniform smelled of starch and hung a little looser on his body than he cared for, the weight of his duty belt was unfamiliar and the scrape of the radio against his shoulder irritated the shit out of him, but all of that faded into the background when he chanced a glance to his right.

His breath caught in his throat and he choked on it. He was starting to hate the way his body responded to her. Ollie glanced at him with an eyebrow raised. Sam shook his head and looked back at the front of the room where Best had made his way to the podium.

Andy stood next to Luke just inside the doorway. Three weeks ago, she had worn SRU standard issue uniform and arsenal of weapons, looking for the entire world as dangerous and lethal as a sniper. Today, she wore soft black pants that hugged her curves; a crisp white button up with short sleeves and her hair is riotous curls on top of her head. The badge and gun at her hip fit like a glove and she wore both with ease. She stood tall next to Luke and looked around the room as though planning an exit strategy in case of a bomb.

She looked nothing like he remembered and yet, exactly as he remembered her. The curve of her smile, the glint of humor in her eyes and the . . . _get a grip, Swarek, _he yelled at himself.

"Okay, coppers of 15! We have a new body to welcome," Best began. "Detective Andy McNally has come to us straight from SRU. She was an integral part of the take down of Anton Hill."

He held for applause and hoots that broke out. Sam grinned when he caught sight the flush that crept up her neck to her cheeks. She wasn't used to the attention. And she hadn't yet noticed him in the room, which kind of annoyed him. He wanted her to feel just a touch of what he was feeling since the last time they had been together.

"She has joined us as a homicide detective. She will be partnered with Callaghan and Barber. I trust you all to welcome her to our family and help her in any way she needs as she acclimates to her new position here at 15," Best finished.

Most of the coppers had turned to wave hello or nod a head her direction. Luke's presence at her side was calming in a way she wasn't expecting. Andy made out the row of rookie cops in the front and instantly liked the two guys she had followed in that morning. They both grinned at her in camaraderie – like rookie to rookie, they were in the same boat just on different sides – copper and detective.

If any had connected the dots with her last name to her father's, they hid it well. She only recognized one or two in the room who would have personally known him and they both had given her reassuring smiles. So one fear assuaged.

"Time to go," Luke whispered and placed a hand against her back again to walk her out.

It was then she noticed the rest of the coppers were heading out towards the sally port. She had missed the rest of Best's speech.

Luke led her back to the D's office – that's what he called it. It was actually two floors, the main floor had four desks and the loft area had another three desks – it was directly across from Best's office and had another door up there as well. Luke led her up to the loft. The closest desk had files scattered across the surface, the computer had a screensaver of sports cars that changed three times before Andy made it all the way up the stairs. The next desk was clean, the files piled neatly in one corner, a cellphone propped in a holder next to the computer. The last, facing the neat desk, was empty save for the computer and phone.

"This will be your desk. You can go down to the supply room and pick up whatever you think you might need. It's best to grab as much as you can, because Frank's secretary, who was also Boyko's, keeps forgetting to order more supplies until we're stuck buying them ourselves," Luke explained, dropping down in to his own chair.

He leaned back and studied Andy. She wasn't a typical rookie detective – those usually came straight from patrolling the streets and felt they knew more than they really did. Best had already given him some background on her in preparation for her coming to 15. He knew she had been a sniper and negotiator for SRU. She had been placed on their elite Team 1; only the best SRU officers were offered positions. He wondered how many kill shots she had taken. He wondered who her husband was and what he did for a living to afford such a fat rock on her finger. And against his wishes, he wondered if her body was as hard as the muscles in her arms suggested or if there were hidden soft curves and just what it would feel like to have her underneath him, naked and writhing.

Andy had sat down during his musings and took stock of her new workspace. At SRU, she had a weight room and mandatory sessions with Ed to stay strong. There had been a firing range made up of twisting hallways and fog machines and every other distraction available to keep her weapon skills honed. She had traded it all for a desk in an office shared with six others.

"Desk duty? Seriously, Frank?" Sam had cornered the Sarge as soon as he saw what his assignment had been.

"Sam, you've been out of practice for nearly ten months," Best explained exasperation evident in his voice. "You'll take the next three shifts on desk and then we'll talk about sending you out on patrol."

"Frank, come on! I think I can handle a couple of traffic stops," Sam cajoled; he was desperate to get out of the barn. He had seen Andy head back to the D's office and given that he was now in Best's office, they were on the same level and only a couple of windows and doors separated them. She still had not acknowledged his presence. He was about to storm in there and shake her hard – or quite possibly take her in his arms and never let go.

"Sammy," Best warned in a low voice. "Desk duty for three shifts and if I hear another complaint you'll be on it indefinitely."

Sam growled and stormed out of the office. He chanced a glance towards Andy and caught the stare Luke was giving her. It made his stomach clench. At least some things never changed. Luke picked a new rookie to romance every time they were assigned to 15 and apparently rookie detectives made the cut as well.

Andy took Luke's advice and headed down to the supply room to stock up. He had given her a box and a list of items she'd want to look for. Barber was studying for a court appearance in one of the conference rooms and Luke had paperwork to catch up on, so she wasn't needed for anything yet.

She spent a good thirty minutes in the musty room, picking out pens and legal note pads, a three-hole punch, hanging folders for her desk drawers, a flat desk calendar, a cup for holding her pens, stapler and just about anything else that would fit in the box.

He had just prepared the best cup of coffee possible with the mediocre coffee pot and was heading back to the front desk where he had left the rookie Dove? Dov? Who the hell knew, the kid talked too much and had more energy than a kid hyped up on caffeine and candy. Sam already had a headache. He had to leave just to get away from the constant questions about undercover work.

So he wasn't really watching where he was walking. He had his head down to watch the coffee swirl in the cup. And he didn't exactly hear the click clack of heels until it was too late.

"Goddammit!" He grunted and growled as the hot liquid poured over the rim and onto his had and down his uniform. "Watch where you're going, buddy!" He yelled and only then looked up.

Dark chocolate eyes met his and held. A box had fallen to the floor and spilled its contents, coffee dripped onto paper and still he couldn't tear his eyes away.

In an instant he had been transported to the past.

"_Hey!"_

"_Watch it!"_

_Sam had just turned the corner to head back to the front desk, coffee clutched in his hand and fuming about being stuck on desk . . . again, when a solid whirlwind crashed in to him, spilling coffee over his hand and down his newly dry cleaned uniform._

"_Goddammit! Watch it, buddy!" He yelled._

"_Sorry! You were in my way," she said and then skated away – literally, on scuffed white skates with bright red wheels, light brown pigtails streaming behind her. _

_Sam watched incredulously as she made her way around the bullpen at breakneck speed, dodging coppers and D's deftly. Most smiled as she passed, some tried to pat her head, but she was moving too fast for them. She stopped just outside the D's office and through the window, Sam saw Detective McNally look up and smile at her._

_The girl couldn't have been more than ten and yet was tall – coltish legs with knobby knees. She wore a Catholic school uniform of plaid dress and white ruffled shirt underneath, navy stockings to her scraped knees, and pigtails with red ribbons. A heavy knapsack bounced on her back. Tommy gave her a hug and kisses and sent her on her way. _

"_Who is that?" Sam asked the cop he was stuck with at the desk._

"_McNally's daughter. You'll get used to her, she's here nearly every day after school," he replied barely looking up from the desk._

"_I'm going to change," Sam muttered and headed back out, tossing the ruined cup of coffee into the trash._

_Ten minutes later in a fresh uniform, Sam walked back to the coffee machine. He found the girl there expertly making a pot. He raised his eyebrows at her and watched in amusement._

"_I'm Andy," she said to him with a blinding white smile. "You're Swarek?" _

"_Yeah, how'd you . . . " he stuttered._

"_Duh!" She rolled her eyes and pointed at his chest._

_He held in a groan. Of course, it's on his stupid nametag._

"_You should be more careful where you skate," he said trying to take control of the situation. "Like outside."_

"_You should watch where you walk," she retorted._

"_You should watch how you speak to your elders," he shot back._

"_How old are you?" She asked, turning to look at him fully._

_With her skates on she came up nearly to his shoulders. It was a little disconcerting for someone with a child's face to be so close to his. She was a pretty child with a pointed chin, a nose that tipped up at the end, wide dark chocolate eyes and thick brown hair that had probably been wrestled into two pigtails in the morning as the elastic holding them was falling out. _

"_How old are you?" He asked back, dodging her question._

"_Twelve. You?"_

"_You go to St. Ann's?" Sidestepping her question again._

"_Yeah, sixth grade," she replied with a shrug. The coffee pot had finished brewing and she deftly poured the steaming liquid into a Styrofoam cup. She emptied in two sugar packets, gave it a swirl with a swizzle stick and then handed it to him. "Black, two sugars."_

_He stared at her dumbfounded. How on earth did she know that? She still held the cup out expectantly, but the longer he went on staring at her, the more her smile faded._

"_That's how you take it, right?" She asked worriedly, like she had done something wrong – as if running him over on her skates was nothing compared to getting how he took his coffee wrong._

"_Uh . . .yeah," he answered, swallowing hard and took the cup from her. Their fingers brushed and he swore he felt a jolt in his stomach. It made him sick. She was twelve! Twelve! Baby faced with pudgy cheeks and knobby knees, why in the hell . . . _

_Andy suddenly smiled wide. He watched as she turned and skated off towards the D's office again. _

"Detective McNally!" Dov's voice dragged Sam back to the present. Dov had already scurried to the front of the desk and squat down to help clean up the mess on the floor.

Sam couldn't tear his eyes away from Andy even after she dropped to her knees to help Dov, the memory of there first meeting too vivid in his mind.

"It's just Andy," she said quietly to the rookie cop.

"Dov Epstein," he replied with a quick smile. "Getting settled in? No fresh bodies?"

"Not yet," Andy answered, throwing the last bits of office supplies into the box. She went to pick up the box, but Dov stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"I'll just take this up for you," he said and walked away, which irritated the shit out of Sam as he was left stuck at the front desk by him self. Andy was still crouched on the floor, so he held out a hand to help her up.

Her hand was warm in his. He didn't particularly care for the jolt of electricity that started in his gut and traveled further south rapidly. Sam took a shaky breath and released her hand.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, pushing an escaped curl back behind her ear.

That's when he noticed it. A sparkle and glint of silver on her finger, her ring finger on her left hand. His eyes followed her hand as it went from her ear back down to rest against her thigh. Nestled together on her finger was a wedding band and engagement ring with a rock he would never be able to afford. Sam could feel his eyes narrow and anger replace the pleasant jolt holding her hand had given him. He knew he had no reason to be angry, it had been seven years, but her getting married had never once crossed his mind as a possibility of happening.

Andy saw the shift in his stance and the expression on his face turn from happiness to . . . anger? She followed his line of sight and saw he had fixated on her wedding ring. She straightened her spine and flexed her hand, the motion causing Sam to look back up at her.

"I'm sorry for spilling your coffee, Officer Swarek," Andy said softly and slowly. "I'll watch where I walk from now on."

With that, she turned on her heel . . .really gorgeous heeled boots that made her legs look longer, Sam thought before he could tamp it down . . . and stalked away towards the bullpen.

Sam cursed and stomped towards the men's locker room. He saw Dov was on his way over, so he glowered at him and jerked his thumb towards the desk. Dov sprinted across the bullpen and hit the chair spinning.

Ten minutes later, Sam was back at the desk in a fresh uniform with a pounding headache. He had forgotten to grab a new cup of coffee and was about to head over to get one when he saw a cup sitting on the desk.

"For you," Dov said with a grin. Sam grimaced until he saw the message written in bold red on the Styrofoam cup.

**Black, two sugars. Sorry! **

And, dammit his heart did not skip a beat or two . . .. It did not!

The Penny was darker than she remembered. It also had different music playing out of a newer CD jukebox and cleaner tables. It had been a few years since she had had to drag her father out of the bar drunk and belligerent. She hadn't wanted to come but Jerry and Luke begged her until she agreed to stop for one beer.

"Andy McNally!" A warm and familiar voice called over the din of off-duty coppers. "As I live and breathe!"

Strong arms wrapped around her and swung her in a wide circle. Liam set her down with a smile and kissed both her cheeks. "It's been forever since I've seen your beautiful face!"

"It's good to see you too, Liam," Andy replied breathlessly.

"What can I get you?" He asked pulling her towards a barstool before getting back behind the bar.

"Whatever's on tap," Andy answered. She glanced around the room and found Jerry and Luke at a table in the corner of the room. Sam was nowhere to be found, which was a relief. It had taken her all of her self-control to focus on the files Luke gave her to go over when all she really wanted to do was stare at him working the front desk. It had been too similar to the first time they had met, he at the front desk and she stuck in the D's office.

"I'm just having one before heading home," she explained.

"I hear you're with 15 now?" Liam asked as he prepared her drink.

"Yeah, just started today." 

"You a rookie cop?" His eyebrows rose towards the end.

"No, rookie detective, homicide," she answered and took the pilsner he handed to her. "It's good," after taking a sip.

"Following in your daddy's footsteps?"

"Something like that," she said and hopped off the barstool, took her pilsner and made her way through the crowd to Jerry and Luke.

"Hey, you made it!" Luke said with genuine surprise. He stood and pulled out the chair for her. He had completely thought she had only agreed to shut him up and would have gone home to the husband instead.

She shrugged non-committedly and took a larger gulp of her beer. Jerry had spent most of the day holed up in a conference room, so she really hadn't talked with him. Luke had taken calls and read through files, muttering to himself occasionally. It had been a long day. Now at the end of it she wasn't sure why she had been so nervous.

"Today must have seemed pretty tame compared to a normal SRU day, huh?" Luke asked. He was curious about her and what made her give up SRU for Homicide.

"I liked it," she replied with a shrug. In all honesty, it had been a relief to sit still with no hot calls or ringing bells. The only sounds to be heard had been the ringing phones and quiet murmur of conversation. Luke's voice had been a balm to her rattled nerves and helped her to focus on files and not a certain dark haired guy who had just walked in to the bar with the same balding copper she had handed him off to at the takedown.

"Pretty impressive if you ask me," Jerry spoke up suddenly. "Only female in SRU and handpicked for Team 1 to boot."

"Not the only female and I had to work my ass off to get on Team 1," Andy spat out a little too harshly. She took a large gulp of beer and then glanced at her phone. No calls. No messages. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam and the bald guy sit down at the table next to theirs. Sam had his back to her, but in the closest seat. She could smell his cologne.

Jerry's eyebrows went sky high and he raised his hands in mock surrender. He mouthed "sorry" to Luke and left them alone.

"You'll have to excuse my partner, sorry, our partner," Luke said, scooting closer to her. "He's an ass most of the time."

"You might as well ask me," Andy finally said with a sigh.

"Ask you what?" Luke inquired. The woman fascinated him. One minute she was quiet and sulky, the next fire and brimstone. He envied her husband.

"Whatever it is that has been on your mind since this morning," she answered with wide chocolate eyes. "Don't think I haven't noticed you start to say something and then stop yourself. Go ahead, ask whatever you want."

Luke contemplated. He was good at interrogation, but she wasn't a suspect and he truly wanted to know more about her. "What made you decide to go to SRU?" He finally settled on.

"Talked my way out of a hostage situation, got noticed by my superior, who happened to mention it to someone else," she answered, shrugged her shoulders. It had been more than that, but no need to get in to the sticky details.

"Were you the hostage?"

"Nope," she popped the P and smiled mischievously.

"Cop?"

"Rookie. Second year in," she confirmed.

"Which division?"

"I wasn't here in Toronto, but out in Vancouver," Andy replied.

"Vancouver? I thought you were from Toronto."

"I went to Vancouver for college, then to the academy after I graduated and was placed there," she explained, she could feel Sam tense behind her.

"Oh yeah? What did you study?"

She grinned sheepishly and answered, "psychology with an emphasis on criminal profiling."

Luke looked suitably impressed. Andy hazarded a glance over her shoulder and found her self staring directly into Sam's warm brown eyes. He was looking at her with an expression between admiration and incredulity.

"Wow, that's . . . wow," Luke stuttered. He had caught the look between them and while his brain was trying to process that not only was she drop dead gorgeous, but smart and knew how to handle a weapon, it was also trying to figure out if Andy knew Swarek and then it immediately switched to if they had ever been intimate with each other.

"The classes were killer, but I enjoyed figuring out the different profiles. My thesis was on Jeffrey Dahmer," she continued absentmindedly, her thoughts jumbled from Sam's stare.

"Why go to the academy? Why not some cushy job at headquarters with the rest of the profilers?" Luke finally asked when he had gathered his thoughts.

"My dad was a cop. I didn't want to just sit in an office and come in to profile the next serial killer or child molester. I wanted to be on the streets to see the people who lived and breathed it. Then the hostage situation happened," Andy explained quietly.

"Then what?" Luke prodded.

"I was offered a position with SRU in Toronto when my superior felt I was ready to stop being a rookie," she said. She gulped the last of her beer and checked her phone one more time.

"How long were you in SRU?"

"Three years. Team 3 for the first year and Team 1 for the last two," Andy stated. She was ready to go, but something kept her in her chair. She didn't want to admit it was probably Sam's presence behind her. She had heard him talk and laugh with the balding guy and a few others who had stopped at their table. His voice had been familiar and soothing, just like she remembered.

Luke watched her fidget and wondered if she needed to get home to the husband but didn't know how to tell him. Or maybe, she didn't want to go home and didn't know how to relay it to him. He decided to go for broke and ask the question that had been on his mind all day.

"Your husband must be very proud of you," he finally said, surprised when her head whipped back around and her eyes landed on him going from open honesty to cold and flat. "I mean it's impressive to be picked for SRU and the intensity of the job."

"Yeah, well . . ." she trailed off when her phone started to ring. "Excuse me."

She flipped the phone opened as she stood up, "hey, sweetie," as she walked away.

Luke watched her walk away with appreciation for the way her hips swayed and her hair flounced a bit. Definitely something there she wasn't saying. Maybe the husband wasn't proud of her and her marriage was suffering from it.

When she slipped out the door, he tore his eyes away and found Swarek looking directly at him with a smirk and eyes narrowed.

"What?" Luke finally snapped at him with irritation evident in his voice.

"You're an idiot," Sam replied, and then turned back to his conversation with Oliver.

Sam's own thoughts swirled. He had heard their entire conversation. The last time he had seen her she had still been in school. Tommy had retired shortly thereafter and they had lost touch and with Sam undercover more often than not, he had no reason to know when Andy had graduated or what she had done afterwards. The fact she had gone on to be a cop and slid seamlessly to SRU was not really a surprise. The fact she had been in Toronto for the last three years and only now had run in to her was a surprise. He had only done two stints undercover during that time. How had he never seen her before?

He looked back towards the door willing her to walk back in. After ten minutes it appeared that wouldn't happen. Luke had already left. Oliver was moaning about needing to leave, so Sam closed out his tab and headed out.

He had just stepped outside when he saw her. She stood next to a silver Mini Cooper. He watched as she closed the phone, slipped it into her pocket and slid into the car. She drove away without acknowledging any of them, including Luke to Sam's delight.

Two more days on desk, was all he thought.


	3. Chapter 3  First Body First Big Break

**A.N. This chapter has been a pain in the rear to write. I kept re-writing it and re-writing it! I'm not sure how it all came out. I am more than willing for someone to Beta the next chapter. Any takers?**

_Disclaimer: has been disclaimed. See Chapter 1._

Chapter Three – First Body, First Big Risk

"Christ, what a mess," Sam muttered, surveying the scene.

Diaz had taken one look and ran back out to empty his stomach. Oliver and Nash had arrived first and had secured the scene, but it was up to him and Diaz to start interviewing the neighbors and talk to the person who made the call.

"Homicide has been called," Oliver stated. Sam glanced at him. "Callaghan and Barber," Ollie added with a shrug.

"Who made the call?" Sam asked turning away from the body on the floor. Diaz had made his way back inside, his face pale and sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Vic's girlfriend," he answered for Ollie. "She's out on the porch."

"Sit with her until Homicide gets here. I'll start with the neighbors," Sam stated and strode out the front door.

It was humid outside. The neighborhood was awash in flashing blue and red lights; a small gathering of neighbors stood off to the side and this was where Sam headed. Diaz had stopped back on the porch. Sam had given the girl a cursory glance as he passed: teenager, curly hair, backpack clutched in her lap. He would have preferred to talk with her, but he knew Homicide would want first crack at her.

Sam had just pulled out his notepad and pen when he saw Jerry's red Stella pull up and park haphazardly to the curb. They nodded to each other in acknowledgement.

"Who here can tell me what happened?" Sam asked, his eyes roving over the crowd and settling on a young girl near the same age as the girl on the porch. "What's your name?"

"Quinn, sir," she replied with a frown. He motioned her closer and separated her from the rest of the crowd. "Everyone stay put that has something substantial to say, otherwise head back home," he added to the rest.

ooo

Andy parked her car down the block and took the short walk up to the crime scene to clear her head. It was her first day on-call and first body. Jerry had been adamant about her staying at the Barn and looking at ongoing case files to acquaint herself with how things were done rather than start a fresh case. Tonight, she had gotten the call from Luke.

While she dressed, she had brewed a pot of coffee and sent a quick text to Jules. It was near midnight, but the street was lit up. It appeared all the neighbors were out on the street milling around behind barricades. She flashed her badge and was let behind the barricade. She took a quick look around and saw the rookie Diaz on the porch, hovering near a young girl, Nash was talking to one group of elderly people and Sam was writing down in his notepad while another young girl talked, her arms gesticulating rapidly.

Her heart skipped a beat when he glanced up and their eyes locked.

"Hey, you made it!" Luke's voice penetrated her thoughts.

"It wasn't hard to find," Andy replied and took a sip of her coffee, her eyes still on Sam.

"Okay, so here's what we do at an active crime scene," Luke said, ushering her towards the front door. "We are going to look over the entire scene, see what might be out of place, photograph everything, then we'll talk with the officers who took statements and determine who we might want to talk more with. Any questions?" Luke explained.

Andy took another sip of coffee and thought carefully. She had already taken a quick look around. The neighborhood was lower middle class, mostly elderly neighbors, a couple of dogs. It was the kind of neighborhood who would watch out for each other. Not unlike the neighborhood she had grown up in. . . before . . .. Well before her life got turned upside down.

"No, sir," she finally replied. "I'm here to observe and learn," she added wryly.

Luke nodded, strode up the porch stairs and into the house, not once sparing a glance for the girl huddled in the corner.

"Diaz," Andy acknowledged.

"Detective McNally," he said.

"Guard duty?" She asked quietly, her eyes taking in the frayed backpack, scuffed Mary Jane shoes and hunched shoulders of the curly haired girl.

"She made the call," Diaz replied just as quietly, but with an edge of excitement. "Found him, supposedly."

"Anyone talk to her, yet?" She asked. The girl had raised her head and was watching them intently. Andy could recognize the look on her face as though she had been looking in a mirror.

Diaz shook his head frowning.

"Okay," Andy sighed. "I'll let Luke know. He'll probably want to take her back to the station, track down her parents."

Inside was controlled chaos. Andy found Jerry in the front room where the body was. Luke was talking with the M.E. and several other officers milled around placing yellow numbers next to items around the victim. The sickly sweet smell of blood burned her nose, but she breathed through it, grateful for only having coffee in her system.

"Where have you been?" Jerry demanded.

"Outside with Diaz," Andy answered.

"You're not a cop, McNally," Jerry sneered, lowering his camera and turned to look at her fully, his hands on his hips, his stance wide. "You're a homicide detective. You need to be where the vic is to learn how this all works, got it?"

Andy took a deep breath, nearly choked on the smell radiating from the victim, and forced herself to not freak out on him. Jerry had been like that all week. He was condescending, belittled her thoughts and ideas concerning open cases and had her constantly filling his coffee mug like his own personal secretary. She had anticipated the hazing, but not the ferocity of hatred that boiled off Jerry sometimes. She wasn't sure if he just didn't think women could be homicide detectives or he truly did not like her.

"Diaz is guarding the girl who called it in, Sir," she finally said with only a touch of animosity in her voice. "I was just finding out if anyone had talked to her yet."

"I'll talk with her in a minute," he replied. "Let's go over the scene, 'kay?"

ooo

Sam couldn't keep his eyes off McNally since the moment she had walked . . . . more like stomped . . back into the Barn. She had been scowling furiously and nearly slammed the door to the D's office closed, if it hadn't been for Best standing right outside the door talking on his cellphone. Sam watched in amusement while she went to her desk, threw her purse on the floor and slumped into the chair. He had an idea what had gotten her worked up and he planned on having a little chat with Jerry over a couple of beers after shift about his attitude towards the rookie detective.

Sam had stayed at the scene long enough to finish interviewing Quinn. He had found out the house belonged to a single father, the girl who had called it in was his daughter and she had been dating a guy her father had disapproved of. Most likely the kid with a bullet in his head was the boyfriend, but whether it was the dad or the girlfriend that had shot him remained to be seen. No one had seen anyone running from the house. The sound of the shot had been heard, but most thought it was a car backfiring. There had been one shot. The girl had made the call around 11:30 pm.

By the time Sam had finished with his witness, Jerry was standing on the front porch talking with the other girl, presumably the daughter. McNally stood in the dark behind him, already with a scowl, her arms crossed. Diaz leaned against the railing, his gaze intent on McNally.

One thing Sam had noticed right away after she had started at 15, McNally attracted the attention of all the males at 15. In a week, Sam had deduced that Luke wanted to sleep with her, whether she had a husband or not, Epstein thought she was badass and wouldn't shut up about her, Diaz treated her with total respect and helped her whenever she needed it, Oliver even started looking on her like a daughter. The only one immune to her charms, with the exception of the ladies, was Jerry - who had an openly hostile attitude towards her. And the feeling was quickly becoming mutual.

Luke followed her in shortly thereafter and Sam found himself watching them with open amusement. He couldn't hear what they talked about, but McNally's face was flushed and she gesticulated erratically to make her point. Luke leaned against her desk with his arms crossed.

"What's so amusing?" Oliver asked him, dropping heavily into the chair opposite Sam.

"McNally," Sam replied with a smile.

"McNally, huh?" Oliver said with a grin and swiveled around to check out the D's office.

"She's been riled up about something since the murder scene," Sam explained. "I think she's giving Callaghan a rundown of her grievances."

"Taking an active interest in a rookie detective?" Oliver commented softly. "That's not like you."

Sam shrugged, eyes darting to the left towards Oliver, before focusing back on the D's office.

"You knew McNally years ago didn't you?"

Sam cleared his throat and ignored Oliver. He wasn't about to indulge in Oliver's morbid fascination with his and McNally's history.

"Oh, this could get interesting," Oliver commented, sitting up straight in his seat.

Jerry had made his way over to the D's office, opened the door and said something to cause Luke to stand up and McNally to grimace. Jerry snapped his fingers and gestured for Luke to follow him out leaving McNally at her desk.

Jerry and Luke headed towards the interrogation rooms, Sam watched as they disappeared down the hallway and almost missed McNally hurling a pencil towards the door of the D's office. It bounced off the glass with a ting and fell to the floor.

"Hahahaha!" Oliver guffawed next to him loudly.

"Shut it!" Sam hissed just as McNally raised her head and locked eyes with him. She flushed bright red. Sam gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and smacked Oliver upside his head.

With her head down, McNally left the D's office, bending down to pick up her pencil first. She headed towards the interrogation rooms as well. Sam had a feeling she had been banned from the interview by Jerry and was going to observe instead.

"You going to check on her?" Oliver asked, his laughter fully under control.

"Why would I?" Sam replied, focusing on the computer screen in front of him.

"Why not?" He pressed. "Jerry's been an ass to her all week. Obviously it's pissed her off."

"So?"

"So . . . " Oliver trailed off. He rubbed a hand over his head and looked at Sam like he was being unusually obtuse. "Look, you have a history with the girl. She brings you coffee every morning . . "

"What?" Sam's head comes up.

"What, what? You think I didn't notice the steaming hot cup of coffee sitting on your desk every shift this week?" He answered with a grin. "None of the other rookies bring you coffee. Peck has moaned about it on several occasions. Apparently, she can't get on your good side unless there is a coffee order to go with it."

Sam huffed and leaned back in his chair. He was itching to go check on McNally. He knew the coffee was her way of a peace offering, but it still felt too weird to act on any of the impulses he had around her. They still had barely spoken to each other and the more time that passed the harder it was getting to have that first meaningful conversation. Hell, he wanted to ask how her dad was doing, who the husband was, were there any kids and a whole host of questions he did and did not want to know the answers to with equal fervor.

"Go," Oliver piped up. "You're not needed back out on the streets for at least a half hour. Go check up on her," he explained.

Sam hesitated for another minute, then squared his shoulders and went in search of McNally.

ooo

Andy stiffened when the door to Observation Two was opened, but visibly relaxed when she saw it was Sam. She stood in front of the window with her arms crossed watching the interview intensely. Sam came to stand beside her; he rested his hands against the edge of the window. On the other side, Jerry sat across from the girl from the scene while Luke stood near the door.

"They're going to get nothing out of her," Andy said softly. Sam glanced at her, but she didn't look at him, her eyes intent on the scene in front of her.

"Jerry's good," Sam stated.

Andy scoffed, rolling her eyes.

While Andy listened to Jerry questioning the girl, Sam took advantage of her preoccupation and stared at her instead. She fascinated him. Her first day she had dressed to impressed and had the males of 15 eating out of her hand by the end of the day. Today, she wore artfully faded black skinny jeans with black boots hugging her calves in supple leather, soft white v-neck shirt and black fitted blazer. Her hair swung down her back in large curls. She preferred black and greys with colorful jewelry. She had worn anything from dress pants and shirts to jeans with Chucks.

"He's going to lose her," Andy said, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Huh?" Sam asked, turning back to look at Jerry. The girl was clearly agitated and kept glancing at the mirror.

"Jerry," Andy replied nodding towards him. "His line of questioning is getting him nowhere and she's going to shut down."

"He's good, McNally," Sam assured her. "He's been interviewing witnesses a lot longer than you have."

Andy stared at him sharply at that with an eyebrow raised. It was the first time she had looked in him the eye without flinching. He sucked in a sharp breath.

"I don't doubt that; however, he hasn't interviewed _her_ before," Andy said with an edge to her voice that he couldn't place.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, she's scared, she's seen something she wishes she hadn't," Andy rattled off, tossing her hair back behind her shoulder. "Jerry is treating her like a suspect and not the person who called in a homicide."

"She was found at the scene, of course she's a suspect," Sam said incredulously.

Andy shook her head. "You should know that just because someone is at the scene doesn't mean they caused it to happen. By all witness accounts, a shot went off between ten and ten-thirty, the call did not come in until eleven-thirty. There is no way that girl spent an hour to an hour and a half in the house with a dead body," Andy explained.

"I see your point," Sam conceded. "What else?"

"Her father came home after you had left. He was ranting and raving and calling her all sorts of names. She looked more afraid of him than of the cops, not a normal reaction for a girl who had just killed her boyfriend." 

"You think you could get her to talk?" Sam asked.

Andy snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously, Sam?"

"What?"

"She's fourteen with an alcoholic father," Andy stated and stared hard at him.

"Oh."

"Oh," she echoed.

ooo

_FLASHBACK_

_"Man, where have you been?" Jerry asked, slamming his car door shut. "Looks like you got some sun."_

_Sam grinned, dimples flashing, and hitched his bag higher on his shoulder. He slung his free arm over Jerry's shoulders and directed him towards the doors to 15._

_"Three days at the beach with the lovely Terese," Sam drawled._

_Jerry clasped a hand over his heart and drew in a deep breath._

_"Ah, you wound me!" Jerry exclaimed. "And how is the lovely Terese?"_

_"Heavenly," Sam replied. "Long legs, tan lines and the most delectable . . . " Sam trailed off allowing Jerry to draw his own conclusions._

_"You are one lucky bastard," he replied. _

_"She's back in Montreal now," Sam said with a shrug. _

_"Too bad, man," Jerry said. "Hard to say good bye to such beauty."_

_"Ah, Terese is a temptress," Sam agreed._

_Jerry scoffed. "Give me a woman in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform any day. She would be less intimidating," Jerry said._

_They laughed and entered the front doors of 15 and stopped abruptly. "Thank you, Lord!" Jerry breathed, clasping his hands in prayer and raised his eyes heavenward._

_Leaning against the front desk talking quietly to the officer on duty, stood a woman with a short blue plaid skirt, white blouse un-tucked with a blue sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail that hung to the middle of her back. She had a skinny waist; softly curved hips and muscular calves encased in dark knee high socks. For a brief second Sam entertained the thought that Jerry's fantasy had actually walked in to the Barn, but then he realized he was ogling a teenager from one of the nearby schools._

_"Knock it off," Sam said quietly and elbowed him. "She's little more than a child."_

_Jerry shut his mouth and walked briskly in front of Sam to head to the locker room, he glanced back and gave Sam thumbs up and wink. Sam shook his head._

_"Morning, Noelle," Sam said as he moved towards the desk._

_"Have a good vacation, Sam?" Noelle asked._

_At the mention of his name, the girl whirled around. "Sam!" She screeched and hurled across the short space throwing her arms around his neck._

_Sam immediately dropped his bag and wrapped his arms around her skinny waist and picked her up off the floor. She giggled and squeezed his neck._

_"Hey, Sweetheart," Sam said, placing her back on her feet. "Haven't seen you around lately."_

_Andy dropped her arms from his neck and took a step back. She cocked her head to the side and studied him. It had been nearly two years since the last time he had seen her skating around the Barn. She used to come every day after school. Each time she would bring him a coffee if he was in the building or she'd sit in the chair next to his desk and pester him with questions about being a cop or tell him stories about the stupid kids in her class at St. Ann's. But then she had stopped coming. Sam never did ask Tommy the reason why._

_"I've been busy with school and athletics," she replied. _

_"Too busy to stop by to say hello?" He asked with a smile._

_She shrugged a shoulder and tossed her ponytail back. She didn't offer a response and it was then Sam noticed the smile she had first given him had disappeared. In fact, the smile had not ever reached her eyes, which were sporting slight bags._

_"You here to see your old man?" He asked instead._

_She nodded quickly. "Yeah, he forgot his lunch at home." She pointed to a brown paper bag on the desk in front of Noelle._

_"You're going to be late for school if you don't get going," Sam said after a glance at the clock behind the desk. Noelle was giving him a questioning look. He shook his head slightly and turned his attention back on Andy._

_"I'll be fine, just waiting for someone," Andy replied with a look over her shoulder towards the front door. _

_Sam nodded, squeezed her shoulder and headed towards the locker room. The last person he had expected to run into had been Andy. She had been a pretty child, but he had to admit she was turning into a beautiful young woman. The last time he had seen her she had slightly crooked teeth from when her adult teeth had started to grow in. Her hair had been shorter and she still wore a little girl uniform. _

_Sam quickly changed into his uniform. He stopped at the weapons room to get his duty belt and gun. On his way to the parade room he looked towards the front desk. Andy was talking to a lanky boy with shaggy blond hair, also in a school uniform. He picked up her school bag and draped it across his shoulders. Both carried beat to hell skateboards. He watched silently as they walked out the door, dropped their boards to the ground with practiced ease and took off down the street. _

_During the day, Sam looked for every excuse he could think of it to check in with the D's, hoping to catch Tommy alone. He had a nagging feeling in his gut something was off with Andy. At the time he didn't question why she no longer dropped by, he had just assumed Tommy had gotten a sitter for her so she wouldn't be stuck at the Barn for all hours. Now he wondered if there was something else. And it bugged him._

_ooo_

_"Hey! You're back," Sam said surprise evident. Andy was curled up on the sofa in the weight room reading a book and munching on an apple. Her bag and skateboard rested on the floor in front of her._

_"School's out," she replied, her eyes never leaving her book._

_"Have a good day?" He asked, sitting down on the armrest next to her._

_"Eh," came the reply._

_"Okie doke," he said._

_He watched her read. Her eyes moved left to right without pausing. If he didn't know better he would think she was ignoring him. He took the time to peruse her appearance, to take in the difference two years had made. Andy had taken off her sweater and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse, as it was hot in the room. The way she sat allowed the shirt to gape a bit. He caught a brief glimpse of soft roundness and white lace. He coughed and looked away, which was just as bad since his gaze landed on her legs. She had curled her legs underneath her, skirt riding up to expose a smooth expanse of thigh. She had a couple of nearly healed scrapes on her knees, most likely from falling off her board._

_"So, you traded in your roller skates for a board, huh?" He finally asked._

_She raised her eyes and looked at him from under her eyelashes. His breath caught in his throat. Lashes enhanced with mascara and a light sheen of eye shadow framed her pretty chocolate eyes. _

_"They didn't fit anymore," was all she said before going back to her book._

_She confused the hell out of him. First she hugged him like a long lost brother and now she acted as though he were a pesky fly._

_"Andrea, are you ready?" Tommy McNally said as he opened the door. "Oh, Sam! Didn't see you, son."_

_Sam stood up and took a step back to allow Andy room to get off the couch. Andy's shoulders had slumped with the arrival of her father and she barely looked at her dad while she gathered her stuff. Tommy watched her with bloodshot eyes and a frown. Something had happened, Sam could feel it in his gut._

_"Bye," Andy whispered as she walked past him. The look she gave him nearly broke his heart. _

_Ooo_

_The moment Sam entered the Penny he wished he hadn't. Coming off a double shift from Hell all he wanted was a stiff drink and lively conversation with the newest bartender, Laurel. He was determined to get her to go home with him, but so far she had maintained her negative stance on the suggestion. However, the sight that greeted him was wholly unexpected. Tommy McNally sat at the bar, loudly disagreeing with Mitch, the other bartender, about his alcohol intake. His eyes bloodshot, shirt untucked and wrinkled. Several of the other coppers were trying to talk sense in to him._

"_Tommy, it is time for you to go home," Mitch said grimly. "I won't give you another drink. You've had too many already."_

_Mitch looked at Laurel, who picked up the phone, to call the cab company._

"_Ya can' tell me 'ow many I can drink," Tommy slurred, arms waving wildly._

"_Yes, I can and I just did, Tommy," Mitch countered, ducking out of the way when Tommy swung a heavy arm towards his head._

"_Here, it's your last," Laurel said, placing a heavily watered down scotch in front of Tommy. _

_Tommy slumped onto the bar stool right as Sam sat down next to him. Laurel gave him a sad smile and went back to helping the others who had waited during Tommy's tirade._

"_You ever been in love, Swarek?" Tommy asked, his voice soft._

"_No, Sir," Sam replied without hesitation. He had avoided falling in love. It was easier to walk away when no feelings were involved, less heartache for the girl and less guilt for him._

"_Don't," Tommy replied with a heavy sigh. "Isn't worth it."_

"_Sir?" Sam asked._

"_A woman makes you fall in love with her, make you want to give her everything in the world, you'll give her a kid," Tommy explained, eyes suddenly lucid beneath the redness. "Next thing you know, she's gone and your heart went with her without you even knowing it."_

_Tommy went back to nursing his drink, his shoulders hunched and his breathing labored. Sam was confused. It sounded as if Mrs. McNally had died. He would have heard something to that effect, though. Granted, he had taken as many assignments with the Guns and Gangs unit as he could in the last year. Mostly wire room dullness, but a couple of low-end drug deals. The unit was learning all they could about heroin dealer and pimp, Anton Hill. Sam had helped recruit an informant a few months back. . . .had actually had to stay undercover for two months to get it done. Maybe that is when Mrs. McNally had died._

_He had met her once. She had come to the station to pick up Andy one day after school. Sam had been surprised to find out Tommy had such a beautiful wife. She had dragged Andy out of the station by the arm after conversing with Tommy in the D's office. Neither looked particularly happy to see the other. _

"_Daddy?" A quiet female voice penetrated Sam's thoughts. "You promised!"_

_Sam blinked. Andy stood between them wearing a basketball uniform. Her eyes were filled with disappointment, disapproval and sadness. She stared pointedly at the tumbler in Sam's hand and then in her father's._

"_I'm sorry, pumpkin," Tommy replied. _

"_I have a cab waiting," Andy said, crossing her arms. _

"_I'll catch another one in a bit," Tommy said. "You head on home, you shouldn't be here."_

_Sam watched as Andy's expression went from sadness to anger and back to sadness, her eyes filling with tears. Tommy had turned his back on her. Andy glanced at him, swiped angrily at her eyes. _

"_Laurel already told me you were on your last drink," Andy stated with determination in her voice despite the sheen of tears. "I'll wait until you finish and then we'll both go home."_

"_You're wasting the cabbie's time," Tommy replied._

_Andy shrugged, "it's your money."_

_Sam had never felt so awkward in his life. He would rather be undercover again than listening to the two of them. It was clear Tommy was an alcoholic. It was even clearer this wasn't the first time Andy had had to go to a bar to drag him out of. He wondered when her childhood had ended. Was it two years ago when she first stopped coming to the Barn after school or was it now? How many games had Tommy promised to go to and then missed? When and how had Mrs. McNally died?_

_Andy had managed to get her dad off the bar stool during Sam's reflections. Tommy had wrapped one arm around her shoulders and leaned against her. Andy pulled out his wallet and paid for his drinks. Laurel mouthed "I'm sorry" to her. They were already halfway to the door before Sam jumped down from his seat to help her get him out of the bar._

"_Thanks," Andy whispered after Sam had dumped Tommy in the backseat of the cab._

"_It's nothing," Sam replied a little uneasy. "I'm sorry."_

"_For what?" Andy asked with her head tilted to one side._

"_For. . . ." Sam waved his hand towards Tommy slumped in the backseat._

_Andy sighed heavily. "Yeah, my dad's an alcoholic. Not much I can do about it, but pick him up when he's too wasted to get home himself."_

"_You shouldn't have to do that, Andy," Sam said, he placed a hand on her shoulder only to have her flinch at the touch. He removed his hand slowly, warily._

"_Who else is going to do it, Sam?" And suddenly she wasn't quite so young to him. Her eyes held wisdom beyond her years in them. They held pain and sadness Sam hadn't felt since the time his sister was assaulted. She looked at him like he had failed her in some way. And it hurt. A physical hurt inside his chest._

"_Andy," he started. "Why didn't you tell me? Or Boyko? Someone?" _

_She shook her head. "And embarrass him more? You're a cop, Sam, you should know the code by now."_

_She paused and drew in a deep breath. As she looked away from him, Sam stared at her, trying to decide if he admired her determination to protect her father's reputation or if he thought her extremely foolish for thinking she had to handle it on her own._

"_I don't need your help," she finally said with steely determination in her voice. "I have to get him home. See you around."_

_END_

While Jerry and Luke argued with Sam over the merits of allowing her to interrogate the witness, Andy snuck out of the observation room and entered the interview room. She just prayed Jerry would stay away long enough for her to get at least one question answered before storming in to take over.

The girl looked up at her with watery blue eyes, her shoulders slumped forward and her hands clasped firmly in her lap. Her lips were chapped and tear tracks stained her face. Jerry had not been gentle during his questioning.

"Thirsty?" Andy asked, holding out a water bottle to her. There was a solid thump from the other side of the mirror. Some sort of scuffling going on. Andy ignored it and angled the chair so her back was to the mirror.

"Yeah, thanks," the girl whispered and took the bottle from Andy.

"My name is Andy, what's yours?" Andy asked with a tentative smile. She tossed her memo pad on the table but made no move to open it or write anything down.

"Daisy," the girl replied quietly.

"You go to St. Ann's, Daisy?"

The girl looked surprised, her eyes widening and pink flooding in to her cheeks. She nodded and took a sip of the water.

"I went there . . . a long time ago," Andy stated, she crossed her legs and rested an arm on the table. "Is Sister Mary Eugene still there?"

Daisy nodded again, this time with a tiny smile.

"Yeah, I remember her. She was a dragon, totally breathing fire and brimstone with every lecture. I don't think she smiled once the entire time I knew her," Andy reminisced with a laugh.

Daisy grinned.

Encouraged, Andy tapped her fingers against the table – it was to the beat of the school song – Daisy's whole face lit up and she tapped her foot to the same beat.

"Sister Mary Eugene must be ancient by now," Andy said, her eyes never leaving Daisy's face.

"She's the guidance counselor now," Daisy offered with a shrug, the smile sliding off her face.

Andy nodded with a frown. She knew that. While Jerry and Luke had hounded her for information, Andy had Googled information on St. Ann's on her phone. She needed some connection with the girl. Anyone with an alcoholic father had to have gone to the school counselor at some point. Andy was grateful that the guidance counselor had been the same fire-breathing tyrant of a nun she had had to endure when her own father fell off the wagon.

"Yeah, I hated having to talk with the guidance counselor too," Andy agreed to the look on Daisy's face.

"Like . . . how would an ancient nun know what it was like to go home to an empty house with a father passed out on the floor?"

That got Daisy's attention. Her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

"Was he . . . " Daisy started and then stopped, unsure, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"A drunk? Yeah . . . sure," Andy replied. "Scotch was his preferred method of getting hammered."

The room fell silent. Andy waited patiently while Daisy thought. She could tell the girl was trying to decide whether or not to admit the truth about her father. Or maybe she was trying to decide whether or not she trusted Andy.

"Whiskey," she whispered, her eyes on the table, her fingers fiddling with the label on the water bottle. "Dad's is whiskey."

She looked up at Andy with tear filled eyes. Andy tried to smile, but the look she gave was quiet commiseration. Andy waited, hoping now that Daisy had confided in her, the rest would come tumbling out.

"He started when my mom died. Three months ago. It should take longer than three months to go from completely sober to stone cold drunk, right?" Daisy said in a rush, her eyes pleading with Andy to understand.

Andy nodded. It had taken her father longer and her mom hadn't died, just up and left in the middle of the night – and pregnant with another man's kid. She still had not seen her mom and had no idea if she had a half-brother or sister.

"He's never home and when he is he's drunk and yelling," she continued quietly, tears slipping down her face. "He doesn't approve of my friends, my grades, how clean my room is. Everything I do is wrong."

"Did you fight a lot about your friends?" Andy asked.

Daisy nodded, silent again, her lower lip trembling, tears still streaming out of her eyes.

"Was he your friend?" Andy didn't need to elaborate. They both knew she was asking about the boy with a bullet in his head.

"Yeah," Daisy whispered, finally dropping her face into her hands, her shoulders wracking with sobs. "He wasn't . . . sup . . posed to be there," she gasped.

"Why?" Andy asked gently. "What happened tonight, Daisy?"

Daisy continued to cry, but raised her head and looked at Andy with heavy grief. Andy reached across the table with her right hand and held Daisy's.

Taking a deep breath, Daisy started, "we, Trey and I, were supposed to meet up to go to Dylan's house. Dad was out of town on business and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, he'd never know I wasn't at home. I got stuck at Jilly's late and then I couldn't find a bus, so I had to grab a cab home. We were supposed to meet at my house at ten. . . . " she trailed off and shuddered through a sob.

"How did he get in your house?" Andy had flipped open her memo pad with her left hand. She gave Daisy's a squeeze and a smile to bolster her spirits.

"I gave Trey a key a month ago. Dad is constantly going out of town on business. Trey sleeps over sometimes," Daisy replied.

"Do you know who would want to hurt Trey?"

Daisy swallowed thickly.

"Daisy, if you know who did this, we need to know," Andy urged.

"I . . . I don't . . . I don't know exactly . . . "

"But you know something," Andy pressed, her hand squeezing hers gently.

"They'll know if I say anything," Daisy whispered. "If you go after them, they'll know it was me. That's why they picked my house to meet Trey."

"Who? Who, Daisy?"

"I can't. They'll kill me and my dad," Daisy replied, she yanked her hand out of Andy's grasp and crossed her arms tightly around her waist.

"Daisy, we can protect you and your dad. Do you want justice for Trey?"

She nodded.

"Please, Daisy. Let me help you. All I need is a name and we can help protect you and your dad," Andy said firmly.

Daisy fell silent. Andy could practically feel eyes on the back of her head. She was grateful the boys in the observation room had left her alone. She wondered briefly what the punishment would be for disobeying her training officer's instructions to remain in the D's office. She was positive Jerry would dole out something equally horrible and degrading.

"Timmy Fong," Daisy finally said.

Andy drew in a deep breath. The East End Gang. Trey had been involved with the East End Gang. It couldn't get any worse for Daisy.

"Timmy recruited Trey to deal drugs at St. Ann's. They always met at my house when Timmy wanted to get his cut of the deals. They argued at the last meet . . . I was upstairs. I wasn't supposed to be. Trey always wanted me out of the house when Timmy came around," Daisy explained.

"Do you know what they argued about?" Andy prodded.

"Something about the rebels . . . and . . ." Daisy swiped a hand across her forehead and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. "And working both sides. I didn't understand most of it, but Trey looked scared and left without . . . " Daisy stopped abruptly, the pink flooding back into her cheeks.

Andy could guess where she was going with that. Trey would have stayed the night for sex but the argument rattled him too much for that to happen.

"Thank you, Daisy," Andy finally said around a grin. "I'm going to talk with my superior for a moment. I'll be back later to check on you, okay?"

Daisy looked up at her with widened eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll even check on your dad for you. We have him in a holding cell to sober up."

Andy stood, pocketed her memo pad and walked to the door.

"Did you really go to St. Ann's?" Daisy asked suddenly. Andy's hand was on the door knob. She turned to look back at Daisy.

"Oh, yeah!" She replied with a wide smile.

Daisy grinned and finally relaxed her shoulders and leaned back in the chair. Andy slipped out of the interview room, paused in front of the observation room door, and drew in a deep breath before opening the door.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jerry exploded as soon as she stepped in to the room. She shut the door behind her before answering.

"I was thinking you were getting nowhere with the girl and I could help," Andy replied.

"I told you to stay in the D's office and start on the paperwork!" He went on, his nostrils flaring.

Sam leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He had an encouraging smile on his face. Andy spared a glance for him.

"How am I going to learn anything if all I do is your paperwork!" Andy asked her voice low and stubborn.

"You learn by doing what you are told to do by your superiors, McNally!" Jerry said. He had gotten in her face and was pointing a finger at her.

Andy gaped at him.

"Jer, I think you owe McNally a thank you," Sam piped up from the corner.

"Wh . . . what?" He spluttered, facing his longtime friend.

"No offense, man, but you were getting nowhere with the girl, McNally was right about that," Sam explained and then ran a hand over his face. "There's a reason McNally passed her detective exams with a score higher than you."

"Exams have nothing to do with the real world and real interrogations!" Jerry snapped back.

"Did you forget that I also was a negotiator for the SRU for three years?" Andy said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't just come out of the academy, Barber. I do know how to talk to suspects. I know how to build a rapport with victims. And if you happened to miss it, the girl, you know Daisy? She just said that her boyfriend was killed by a high ranking member of the East End Gang over double dealing with the Rebels. Or do you not care that your suspect is most likely the next target?" Andy said angrily, her face flushed red.

Jerry took a step back and stared at her with his mouth hanging open. Sam swallowed a laugh and kept his eyes on McNally.

"She said they got into an argument, not that he killed him," Jerry finally managed to sputter out.

"It doesn't take a genius to take the next logical step. Timmy Fong would know who was in that house before he ever stepped foot in it. He's too meticulous and calculating. If he thought for even a second someone overhead, that person would be dead. They had made plans to meet at her house at the same time the sound of the gun was heard. Daisy was running late. She would have been dead as well," Andy stated, ticking off her fingers with each point she made.

Jerry folded his arms, his gaze bouncing back and forth between Sam and Andy. He didn't like being upstaged by a rookie, but damn! She had made progress where he hadn't. She was good . . . maybe too good. There was a reason why some people went to SRU and others worked a beat. Not many did what Andy McNally had done.

"Fine," Jerry said finally. "I'll get a warrant for Fong."

"What about Daisy and her dad?" Andy pressed.

"The dad has a ways to go before he's sober enough to understand his daughter was almost killed tonight. The girl can stay in the crib for the night. We'll set them up with protective custody. Maybe the dad's company would be willing to relocate him. The East End Gang doesn't have much reach beyond Toronto," Jerry conceded.

"Thank you, Jerry," Andy said.

He gestured towards the door. Andy bit back a smile and left the room.

"She's something," Jerry stated with a ting of awe in his voice.

"Careful, buddy," Sam warned. "Nash'll get jealous."

"Never mind the fact McNally's got a rock on her finger, huh?" Jerry replied. "Hmm. . ."

"Hmm, what?" Sam asked. He was tired and he could tell Jerry was picking up on something.

"It's funny. She's been here a week and so far not a single mention about the husband, not even a picture on her desk," Jerry mused, his finger running over his mustache.

"Maybe she's private," Sam offered stoically.

"Yeah, Sammy, you're private," Jerry retorted. "McNally will talk about anything. I swear the shit that comes out of her mouth makes you wonder if her brain functions correctly. But mention the husband and she clams up."

Jerry looked back at Daisy through the mirror, still deep in thought. "She waltzes in there and comes up with this story about going to St. Ann's and the girl just opens up. I don't get it."

"It wasn't a story," Sam said distractedly. His mind was going a mile a minute. If she didn't talk about the husband, was it possible the husband was out of the picture? But by how far? She still wore his ring.

"Huh?"

"St. Ann's," Sam answered pulling his thoughts away from the possibility of Andy being unattached soon. "Andy went to St. Ann's."

"How would you know that? She's never mentioned it before, although why not, does surprise me," Jerry said with a laugh.

"She used to come around the Barn when her dad worked here. I was a rookie then. She always wore the uniform," was the reply, distracted.

"Mmmm, McNally in a catholic school girl uniform . . . ." Jerry said, but trailed off as a memory flickered at the back of his mind. "Wait! What? Huh?" Jerry stuttered as the memory came into focus.

"Yep," Sam replied with a grin. He slapped Jerry on the back and headed towards the door. "You better get the girl in the crib, so she can rest. It's late."

ooo

During the chaos between shifts, Sam pulled up Andy's personnel file. She was slumped over her desk, on her fifth cup of coffee (that he had counted) and still had three hours left of her shift. With one eye on her and the other on the computer, he jotted down her home address. Two people were listed as emergency contacts, her father and a Quinn Cavanaugh.

As he drove the twenty minutes to a quiet residential neighborhood, he told himself over and over that he was just making sure her home was secure. The East End Gang were notorious for getting the drop on any cop who arrested one of their own and Tommy Fong had been brought in around four in the morning.

Her home happened to be white with blue shutters on the windows, window flower boxes bloomed with bright pinks and yellows. The lawn was tidy and a newspaper had been flung onto the pathway leading to the front door. Sam knew Andy drove a Mini Cooper, so the gleaming black truck parked in the driveway had to be the husband's.

Sam sighed heavily. _Stupidstupidstupid, he thought over and over again._

***So, I stole a term from the Law and Order fanfics. They have a "crib" for where the on-duty officers can rest while working long shifts. We don't see this on Rookie Blue, but it makes sense that they would have a place to rest that wasn't the weight room***


	4. Chapter 4  Heat Wave

A.N. Heartfelt thanks go out to **dcj, milly aeonlilly and this moment is stardust **for their encouragement and offers to check for grammatical errors. Especially to **this moment is stardust **for keeping me company as I wrote this chapter and for providing her amusing theories on Andy's past. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

I appreciate any and all review! Thanks for the continued interest in this story.

Chapter Four – Heat Wave

Andy was horny . . . and hot. A pleasant combination in only one context – and this was not it. It was sweltering outside, Toronto gripped in a fierce heat wave. Each day for a week had gotten progressively worse.

She glanced over at the clock on the night stand and grimaced. 3:34 a.m. The blue numbers seemed to mock her. She didn't have to go to work for another four and half hours.

The windows in her bedroom were opened, the meager breeze doing little to relieve the stuffiness. Her air conditioner had gone on the fritz a week ago. She hadn't found time to get a technician out to look at it. At the time she hadn't been worried. Obviously the weather chose the best time to annoy her.

Andy huffed and rolled on to her back. She had fallen into bed around midnight wearing a thin tank and underwear hoping to stay cool. If her windows had been closed she would have slept naked – not that it would have been any cooler in just her skin.

It wasn't the first night she had gone to bed aroused. Those nights she took care of it herself, but she was getting tired of her own touch. There was something infinitely better about solid male weight holding her down, callused fingers stroking her body in just the right places, wet and sloppy kisses on her lips and neck.

Andy groaned and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She forced the image of dark eyes and full lips out of her brain. Definitely not the image she wanted in her brain.

She wasn't quite yet at desperation, but close.

"Dammit!" Andy cursed and rolled off the bed. She stumbled to her dresser, rummaged until she found a pair of bright pink capri yoga pants and a black and pink racer back sports bra.

Within minutes she had changed, donned her sneakers, pocketed her house key and ran down the quiet neighborhood street. It was quiet outside. Only the whir of air conditioners and the occasional bark interrupted her thoughts as she jogged steadily towards the Barn.

"If you need to get laid, use Luke. It's not like he has hidden his interest," Andy muttered to herself. "It's not like he wants a relationship."

But the thought of Luke's lips anywhere near her body made her visibly shudder, even in the heat. He was cute, not overly muscular, but still . . . nothing . . . not even a flicker of desire.

Andy was mulling over the pros and cons of starting an office affair when 15 Division came into view. She mentally slapped herself and slowed to a fast walk. The run had helped the ache for human contact dissipate a little.

She headed straight towards the weight room once she got inside. A cursory glance around the bullpen revealed Diaz and Epstein throwing paper airplanes at each other. She smiled and waved when Diaz caught her eye. He raised an eyebrow and looked up at the clock pointedly. She shrugged and continued down the hall to the weight room.

The room was empty and slightly cooler than the rest of the Barn. She eyed the various exercise equipment placed around the sparring mat, not quite sure which would provide the most relief for her issue. The bench press was out as she didn't have any one to spot her. It was either the punching bag or Tai Chi on the mat. Andy wasn't sure her body was up for leg press.

She found the gloves in a cabinet. Taking a few practice punches a moment later, Andy felt her body harden and her mind drift. There was no longer any room to contemplate what had caused her to go to the Barn four hours before her shift on very little sleep. She was one with the punching bag. A cliché, perhaps, but that's how Ed had taught her. Empty her mind, concentrate on the punches and where to land them, move fluidly around the bag, stay light on her toes, focused, hard, driven.

Andy was no longer aware of the time. When she finally stopped, breathing heavily, sweat running down her back and front, her hair plastered to her neck and forehead.

"Wow! Work out what was bothering you?" Diaz asked from the doorway.

Andy looked over at him and grinned. Then swallowed thickly when she saw he was no longer in his uniform, but baggy basketball shorts and a tank.

"I thought so," she mumbled.

"Do you mind if I work out a bit too? It's been a long shift," he asked, walking into the room.

"Yeah . . . No problem. . ." Andy stuttered out. "I should go clean up."

"Okay," he replied with a grin.

Andy tried to peel off the gloves, but it wasn't easy considering her hands couldn't grasp the Velcro. She nearly stamped her foot in anger when Diaz walked over to help.

"There," he said softly, after ripping the Velcro apart and sliding the gloves off her hands.

"Thanks," Andy said avoiding eye contact.

She threw them back where she found them and headed for the door.

"Hey, Andy?" Diaz called from the other side of the room.

"Yeah?" She asked spinning around to face him.

"You okay?"

Andy nodded vigorously with what she hoped was a friendly grin and not you're-crazy-and-in-need-of-treatment grin it felt like.

"Okay."

Andy rushed out of the weight room. It's not that she even desired him. He was good-looking, almost childlike in his naiveté of how the rules were to be followed, on a good day he made her feel like a little sister. She was just extremely horny. Now that she thought about it, she should have just done it herself and gotten more sleep. Instead, she would be stuck ten hours on the job with no relief . . . and aching muscles.

"You're here early," Traci remarked when Andy emerged from the showers a short while later.

"Yeah, not my best idea," Andy remarked wryly and sat down on the bench next to Traci.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that," Andy laughed.

"I would say try some chamomile tea, but in this heat, no way," Traci offered with a smile.

"I don't think tea would have helped anyway," Andy replied, brushing out the tangles in her hair.

"Bad dreams?"

There had been a particular nasty homicide earlier in the week they both had worked, Traci as the first responder.

"Nope. The dreams were actually really . . . pleasant," Andy said with a faraway look in her eyes. She shook her head and grinned sheepishly at Traci.

"OH! _Those_ kind of dreams," Traci drawled. "Got a little wound up, huh?"

Andy blushed and ducked her head.

"Note to self: punching bags do not help!" Andy said, giggling.

"Good to know," Traci replied.

They dressed in silence. Andy had kept a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in her locker in the off chance she needed to change during the day. If a call came in, she'd tell Jerry she'd just stay at the Barn to do the evitable paperwork. In the month since she had come to 15, they were working out their differences. He had been impressed with her expertise in getting Timmy Fong in prison for murdering Trey Deacon. Timmy was still awaiting trial. Daisy and her father had moved to Park City, Vancouver, and were being checked on by protective services. Jerry was prepping Andy for when the case went to court. She still didn't know why he disliked her, but he was starting to respect her.

"Can I just ask you what everyone has been too afraid to?" Traci finally piped up when they had both closed their lockers.

"What's that?" Andy looked up at her from re-tying her shoes.

Traci sat down next to her, straddling the bench. She bit her lip. Andy waited patiently. She had an idea where Traci was going, but wanted her to be the one to broach the subject.

"Who is your husband?" Traci blurted out. Several other coppers stilled and looked their way. Andy could feel their eyes on her.

Andy dropped her eyes to her hands. Her wedding ring was back on. The diamond on her engagement ring twinkled in the florescent light. She felt the burn of tears, but forced them back. A month and no one had actually asked her. Oh, she had heard the whispers and rumors. Luke thought she was estranged from her husband and persisted in flirting with her. Diaz and Epstein wavered on whether he was in the military and overseas or an undercover cop who couldn't be reached. There were also rumors her husband was dead, having an affair, or most pathetically that Andy wore the rings to keep the men of 15 at bay. Traci had never expressed an opinion, though she now looked at Andy excitedly and expectantly.

The truth?

Andy was tired of hiding it. She had only Jules to talk to about it, but Jules was busy now she had been cleared to go back to duty by her doctor. They worked opposite shifts most days and when they did connect, it was brief and stilted . . . like they both knew they were living very different lives and had little in common.

She needed a friend. Traci had been nice to her since the moment they met. She had welcomed Andy at the rookie's table every night they went to the Penny. Traci had already told her all about having a son at age fifteen. Sure, she was younger than Andy by a few years, but mature because of having to grow up fast. If anyone would or could understand, it would be Traci.

"Shift is about to start," Andy began.

"Yeah, no, I get it," Traci interrupted. "I shouldn't've pried." Traci turned to leave.

"No!" Andy blurted out, standing up quickly. Traci turned back to face Andy. "I was just going to say, it's a long story and I'd rather not discuss it . . . .here," Andy explained quietly, her eyes darting around the locker room.

"Okay."

"Could you come over after shift? I have a bottle of wine I could bust out," Andy offered a bit nervously.

"Sure! I mean, I'll have to check with my mom to watch Leo tonight, but it should be okay," Traci agreed.

"Great! Just let me know," Andy replied.

"Nash! Are you planning on joining us today?" Noelle's voice penetrated the quiet locker room. Both girls jumped and looked guiltily at the senior officer.

"Right! Coming," Traci said and rushed out the door.

Noelle watched her leave before turning back to Andy. "Callaghan is looking for you. Something about an old case," she said.

Andy nodded, forced her shoulders from slumping and followed Noelle out the door. They parted at the door to the parade room. Noelle slipped in and went to stand beside Shaw and Swarek. Andy paused in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at Sam, who had looked over at her the same moment. Their eyes locked and Andy immediately recalled the dream, which had propelled her out of bed and to the Barn. She felt a blush heat her cheeks and ears. She swore she saw Sam's eyes darken right before . . .

"Hey, there you are," Luke said, grabbing her elbow. "I've been looking for you." He looked over and saw Sam watching them intently. Luke took in Andy's flushed face and glowered at Sam, who shrugged.

"Sorry, Noelle just told me you were looking for me," Andy said and allowed Luke to drag her out of the parade room.

"Jerry won't be in today and I need some help with paperwork from the Pearson homicide," Luke stated.

His mind was reeling in shock. He had caught the look between Swarek and Andy. A pretty pink blush had spread across her cheeks to her ears and even the tip of her pert nose. Luke tried to recall if there had been any interaction between the two in the last month to warrant such a reaction from her . . . and came up blank. He went to the Penny the same nights Andy did in the hope she would spend some time with him away from work. She always met up with the other rookie cops and would either shoot some darts or just sit and talk. She was only there for an hour or two before leaving, usually after receiving a phone call. Not once did she spend time talking up Swarek or Shaw or even him and Barber.

Unless . . . . Swarek usually left around the same time Andy did. Maybe they met up afterwards away from the rest of 15.

Luke sat back in his chair and watched Andy as she typed steadily on the computer, every now and then consulting notes piled on the desk next to her. He did not like the idea of Swarek anywhere near Andy. Not only was he too old for her, but also he had that whole rogue cop attitude, bound to get her in trouble with the brass.

"You going to the Penny tonight," Luke asked.

"Ask me again later," Andy replied. Her muscles were sore and just the thought of sitting at her desk all day was torture. "Why?" She added, looking over at him.

"Just curious," Luke said, twirling a pen between his fingers. He would follow her, whether it was after she left the Penny or left work. He wanted to know where she went. Maybe he'd catch a glimpse of her husband or if it was Swarek she met up with.

ooo

"Hey, McNally!" Sergeant Best yelled, poking his head in the D's office.

Andy jumped at the sound and twirled in her chair to see Best leaning against the doorjamb looking at her expectantly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Can you call Victoria Mercy and see if they can send a nurse over? Couple of guys in holding got at each other, they're bleeding all over the place," Best said.

Andy's eyebrows rose to her hairline. She nodded, reaching for the phone.

"Damn heat wave," Best muttered as he walked away.

After placing the call, Andy walked out to the vending machines. Luke had disappeared a while ago and the other D's were out at a scene. She was hungry and couldn't leave to get food since no one else was around if a call came in.

"Hey," a low rough voice rumbled in her ear. The hair on the nape of her neck stood on end and a rush of warmth spread through her body.

"Hi," she squeaked and glanced to her right. Sam stood impossibly close to her, she could feel his body heat roll off him in waves. The heady scent of his cologne or body wash or whatever the hell it was filled her senses.

He smirked and reached around her to put coins in the machine, he punched a couple of buttons and a Snickers fell to the tray. His right hand was wrapped in white gauze.

"What happened?" She asked, grabbing his hand to inspect it. Already there was blood seeping through the gauze.

"Ice cream truck," he replied. His heart had sped up with the contact, but he forced his voice to remain steady.

She grinned at him, "you need to get this looked at. It probably needs stitches."

"Nah, its fine."

"Should it bleed like that?"

Sam shrugged, his fingers closing over hers, he ignored the shot of pain radiating up his arm at the motion. Andy looked up at him in surprise. He ran his thumb over her knuckles feeling the smooth skin.

"Sam," a voice said from behind them.

Sam dropped Andy's hand and both turned around to face a pretty blond woman in pink scrubs.

"Monica! Hey," Sam said surprise evident in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Got a call you had trouble in holding with some guys," Monica replied with a grin, her eyes raking over him. She stepped closer to Sam and reached for his hand. "What happened?"

"Oh! Uh, nothing, just a scratch," Sam answered, his eyes darting between Andy and Monica. Andy had an amused smile on her face, while Monica looked at her curiously.

"Yeah, I should probably take a look at that," Monica said with a no-nonsense voice.

"No, it's fine."

"Sam, have her look at it," Andy said with a gentle touch to his shoulder.

Monica looked from Andy's hand on his shoulder to Sam's bewildered expression. "I'm sorry, we haven't met," she stated.

"Monica, this is Detective McNally," Sam introduced quickly.

"Hi, I actually made the call to Victoria," Andy said, holding her hand out. "I can show you to the holding cells."

"Okay," Monica replied. "Don't go anywhere, I'll check your hand when I'm finished," she said to Sam.

Sam watched them walk away and felt his heart stutter. He scrubbed a hand over his face. Monica was the last person he expected to run in to. They had dated before he went under and when he left, he had assumed she would move on. In the months since he had been back, he had not seen her.

"Trouble in paradise, brother?" Shaw asked. He had seen the whole production, from Sam holding hands with McNally to the nurse's interruption. It had been very entertaining.

Sam rolled his eyes and ignored the question. "Can you take Nash over to Matthews Park? She wants to ask around about the missing girl from this morning."

"What do I get out of it? It is hotter than hell out there," Shaw complained.

"Three shifts of paperwork?" Sam bartered. He knew Nash would be good for it. He wouldn't be able to get back on the streets until after Monica looked at his hand.

"Yeah, sure, I can take her out," Shaw agreed and went off to get Nash.

Sam found Andy back in the D's office thirty minutes later.

"I heard you waged war on the punching bag this morning," Sam said as he walked through the door.

Andy had been stretching her arms over her head, one after the other. She yawned and waved him in.

"Couldn't sleep," she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Looks like you could use a nap now," he remarked wryly.

She huffed a laugh. She had actually been contemplating taking a thirty-minute catnap in the crib, but none of the other Ds were back yet. It was getting frustrating.

"My air conditioner went out last week. So my place is a furnace," Andy explained. "Hard to sleep."

Sam nodded with a frown. He sat down in the chair next to Andy's desk. She had closed her eyes and had stifled two yawns since he had first entered the room. Her desk was neat with one stack of files, an open one right next to the keyboard, a cup full of pens and pencils, a stapler, this funny wire person-shaped thing that held her cellphone, a couple sticky notes were stuck along the monitor. No picture frames, even the computer wallpaper was generic.

"Monica still busy down in holding?" She asked with her eyes closed.

"Yeah," Sam replied, his eyes roving over her face. She was beautiful. He rubbed his good hand over his head, scratching a bit at his neck. He had been wondering all morning what had gone through her mind before parade. He hadn't missed how her face flushed when their eyes met. He had seen that look before on her face, years ago, in a completely different context and the memory had prevented him from looking away even as Luke had walked up to her.

Andy opened her eyes and found Sam staring at her.

"Don't you have paperwork to do? Rookies to harass?" Andy asked with a smirk.

"Shaw took Nash back out to Matthews Park. I'm stuck here until Monica . . . " He explained, waving his right hand in the air.

"Ah. So, you're just going to sit there . . . "

Sam shifted in the chair so his duty belt wasn't digging into his hip. "I thought I could harass you, instead."

"Right."

"At least until Monica is available."

"She your girlfriend?"

"What?"

"It looked like there might be something between you two," Andy explained with a grin. She had gone back to the form she had been filling out on the computer before Sam had interrupted. With her hands busy she wouldn't be tempted to touch him.

"Yeah, no . . ." he stuttered.

"Yes, she is your girlfriend or no, there isn't something between you?"

"We dated before I went under," he attempted to explain.

"Does she know it's over?"

"What makes you think it's over?" Sam asked, surprised.

Andy looked at him from under her lashes. It was satisfying to know she had the ability to fluster him. In her memories he had always been infallible, larger than life, with all the answers, cocky, totally sure of his ability to make the ladies swoon from his attention. In the last month, she had discovered a Sam who had difficulty talking to her, spending more time just looking at her than anything else.

"I think if you were dating her, you'd want everyone to know. She'd be at the Penny with you some nights," Andy began. "Since I haven't seen you with a single lady friend and by the reaction you had when she showed up, you are most definitely not dating her, whether she is aware of the fact, is still up in the air."

Sam stared at her incredulously.

"I'm a detective. I'm supposed to be observant, so you can stop staring at me like that," she said smugly, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed.

Sam cleared his throat, racking his brain for a quick retort, but before he could come up with something, there was a rap on the door.

"I'm ready for you," Monica announced from the doorway.

"That's my cue," Sam said, standing up.

"Have fun," Andy replied with a grin.

Monica waited in the doorway. She had watched through the windows as they had talked. It had been months since she had seen Sam and even though she knew whatever they had before was over, there was this other part that hoped they could pick up where they left off. She wasn't dating any one new and they had been good together – and the sex had been phenomenal.

At least she had thought that until she saw them talking. Detective McNally was new, that much was apparent, but the ease with which they talked was unnerving. She knew Sam didn't have female friends. He dated casually – no strings, mostly just sex and the occasional hockey game. But this . . . this gleam in his eyes when he looked at Detective McNally, she had never seen before.

ooo

Luke had gotten back to the Barn just as the city lost all power. The Barn was dark, the emergency generator powering half the electricity the Barn needed to function properly.

"Hey, Andy!" Luke called as he walked into the D's office.

"Yeah?"

"You can head out if you want," Luke replied. "I'm heading over to the rec center to help with the investigation going on over there. Not much else you can do with the power out."

The call had come in an hour earlier from Nash. The missing girl from the morning had been found at the Matthews Park rec center at the expense of Shaw getting shot by the kidnapper. Nash had taken the kidnapper out. Andy had been in Best's office when he got the call. It was nearing the end of shift, so most of the coppers were heading to the hospital to check on Shaw.

Andy was more concerned about Nash. She remembered the first time she had killed a man. No matter the reason, it still was a shock. She had seen Nash come in right as the lights went out.

"I was just about to head out," Andy replied, slipping her bag over her head to rest across her chest.

"Have a good evening," Luke said. "I guess the Penny is out for tonight," he added wryly.

Andy smiled at him, thinking back to how he had asked her if she was going there after shift.

The women's locker room was nearly pitch black when she finally opened the door. The only lights were coming from the exit signs.

"Traci?" She said softly, making her way over to the lockers.

Traci sat on the bench with her arms resting on her thighs, her fists clenched between her knees. She didn't look up when Andy reached her.

"How're you doing?" Andy asked.

Traci breathed in deep. "Like I killed a man," she replied shakily.

Andy nodded slowly with a frown. She waited.

"I didn't even hesitate," Traci whispered. "It's like my brain didn't register what I was about to do. I just did it."

The first time Andy had ever killed a man, it had been on the orders of her superior. She had been on the roof of some condemned warehouse, the gun trained on some thug in the neighboring warehouse through the window. There had been a hostage. Greg had given her the order. When the shot was clear, she pulled the trigger. It wasn't until she had gone home it had sunk in what had happened. She had spent an hour in the tub sobbing her eyes out.

"Do you want to talk?" She asked.

"Not really," Tracie replied.

"Wanna drink?"

Traci tried to smile, but her eyes had already filled with tears. Andy wrapped an arm around Traci's shoulders, who promptly broke down.

"I have to talk with the department shrink," Traci said when her sobs had quieted.

Andy nodded in understanding.

"I still want to hear about your husband," Traci went on with a hiccup.

"I can manage that," Andy giggled. "Talk with the shrink and then come get me at the Penny. I ran to work, so I kind of need a ride home. We can get drunk on lukewarm wine and I'll tell you my life story," Andy said somewhat sheepishly.

"Sounds like a plan. . . .God, I hate talking to shrinks!"

"It's supposed to help," Andy stated.

Traci just looked at her skeptically. "Did it help for you?"

"Not the first time," Andy admitted after a long pause. "But, it can't hurt to talk, right?"

They sat in silence a little longer before Traci squared her shoulders and stood up. "See you at the Penny?" She asked Andy, who nodded and watched her new friend walk out of the locker room.

ooo

The Penny was packed more so than usual. The heat wave in full swing hadn't kept the patrons away. Liam had lit every possible surface covered in candles. Both front and back doors had been left open to allow some air to waft through. For once the jukebox did not drown the clamor of voices out.

Andy glanced around the dim interior, but didn't find any of the other rookies. She made her way to the bar and snagged a seat at the end.

"Hey, beautiful!" Liam said, setting a glass down in front of her. "Red or white tonight?"

"Water, please," she replied. He smiled and replaced the wineglass with a bottle of water.

"Can't guarantee it's cold," he said and walked away.

Andy sipped from the bottle and watched Liam fill orders and flirt with the ladies. Liam was a fine specimen. His black t-shirt stretched over his pectoral muscles. He had wide shoulders, a trim waist and a tattoo peeking out from under one shirtsleeve. Once, in another lifetime, she had learned he gave decent kisses. With the mood she had been in all day, a decent kiss or two would be worth the awkwardness afterward.

"Hi."

Andy jerked at Sam's voice. He slid onto the stool next to hers, his thigh pressing hotly against hers, with a sweating bottle of beer in his hands.

"Oops, didn't mean to scare you," he said grinning widely at her.

Andy couldn't breathe, couldn't form a thought in her brain, all focus completely on the feel of his thigh. It had really been too long since the last time a man had touched her – completely her own fault for building walls to keep them out, but she hadn't wanted to risk her heart breaking.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked with worry in his voice, but Andy didn't hear that. He had placed a large warm hand on her thigh – the heat bleeding through the denim.

"Yeah . . . . I'm fine," Andy stuttered out, jumping off the stool, practically jerking her leg away from him in the process. "I . . . I've gotta go," she added, looking around the room for the closet exit.

It took a few minutes of fighting through the mass of people, but she finally made it to the back exit and burst through the door, taking a deep breath as she did. The heat was stifling and burned her throat. She leaned against the brick wall willing her heart to slow down. She closed her eyes against the tears threatening to spill over.

"You okay, McNally?"

Andy kept her eyes closed and bit her bottom lip. Of course he would follow her out! And she did not want to see the concern and worry in his eyes, just because she overreacted to the feel of his leg.

"Hey," he jostled her a bit, his hands rubbing hotly up and down her arms, but Andy refused to open her eyes.

"I'm good," she finally whispered. "It was getting too hot and stuffy in there," she tried to explain, but her voice was thick with emotion from holding back her tears.

"Got me worried about you, McNally," Sam said. He dropped his hands and took a step back.

"Sorry, it's been a weird day," she replied, cautiously opening her eyes. Sam stood in front of her, his arms crossed and stance wide. As she gathered her thoughts, her eyes wandered to his arms – the muscles defined and straining against his shirt.

In the dark she couldn't see, but she knew he had coarse black hair on his forearms, callused fingers from the firing range, she knew there was a small tattoo on his left bicep (which he never did tell her what the initials were for) – and she knew exactly how those arms felt wrapped around her body.

She licked her lips, bit her bottom lip and tried to focus on anything but the fullness of his lips and the memories of what he could do with them flooding back. She pushed off the wall and took one hesitant step forward. He uncrossed his arms and dropped them to his sides. She placed one hand on his chest right where she could feel his heart steadily beating. Andy kept her gaze on her hand for fear that if she looked in his eyes, she'd lose her nerve and run away. She traced the solid muscle of his chest, up and over his shoulder to rest against the nape of his neck.

Sam sucked in a sharp breath at the contact, her nails scratching lightly through the hair at his neck.

Andy pushed against his neck and rose up on her toes and kissed him. Met with no resistance, Andy pressed against him, wrapping her arm around his neck and laid her free hand on his chest. Sam rested his hands lightly against her hips, slanted his mouth against hers and kissed her deeper, stroking her lower lip with his tongue.

Andy opened her mouth and felt his tongue slip between her lips to slide against hers; he tightened his grip on her hips and pushed her away just as she stopped a moan in her throat.

"Stop," he whispered raggedly. He held her at arm's length, Andy's hands on his shoulders and his on her hips.

"I'm sorry," Andy choked out. "I wasn't thinking."

Sam shook his head and at the squeak of the door swinging open, dropped his hands and stepped back from her.

Traci poked her head out, "hey, there you are! Ready?" She looked back and forth between them, a puzzled look dawning on her face like maybe she realized what she had interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Andy said, nodding furiously, her eyes still on Sam. "Let's go."

ooo

The ride to Andy's house was subdued. Traci lost in thoughts about the man she had killed and what exactly she had interrupted between her training officer and the rookie detective. Andy directed Traci to park in the driveway.

Andy unlocked the door, stepped into the foyer and hissed at the heat, she dropped her keys on the table and kicked off her shoes. Traci followed closely behind. It was dark. Andy flipped the switch in a futile attempt to see if the electricity was back on even though the entire neighborhood was dark.

"Give me a sec," Andy said, creeping further in to the house. "I have candles in the kitchen," she called out.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Traci could make out the living room and a large picture window looking out into the backyard, lit only by the moon. Some of the neighbors were outside with sparklers and candles, talking and laughing loudly.

"Here we go!" Andy said, walking back into the living room with two large candles lit. She placed them on the coffee table, then grabbed the bottle of wine from under her arm. "Let me get some glasses."

Traci sat down one of the sofas and glanced around the room. One sofa, a loveseat and two smaller chairs were grouped around the coffee table facing a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. A couple of bookcases filled with books, CDs, movies, and knickknacks. She couldn't make out the pictures hanging on the walls. She was squinting at one from her perch on the sofa when Andy returned.

"Ta da!" She said producing two glasses and went to pouring generous amounts into each. "So, how did the talk go?"

Traci shuddered and took a sip of the lukewarm wine. Andy wandered around, opening up windows and the sliding patio door, lighting a couple more candles as she went.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be," Traci admitted.

"Yeah, they can be intimidating. I don't get why they want you to talk to them immediately following the incident," Andy said somewhat distractedly. "I mean, let me fall apart first in private and then I'll go talk to them."

Traci grinned. She felt the same way. Department shrinks were quacks.

"I think I'm all talked out about the 'incident'" she said, air quoting. "I'm ready for some juicy gossip."

Andy sank down onto the loveseat, pulling her legs up under her; she twirled the wine around in her glass. She knew what Traci most wanted to know, but she really didn't want it to be gossiped about around work.

"Hey, Andy, I'm not going to, like, spread rumors around," Traci said suddenly, sitting up straight and looking at her intently. "I just want to talk about something other than what happened today."

Andy nodded slowly. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Are you actually married . . . or . . ." Traci asked and trailed off at the look on Andy's face.

She had glanced down at her rings and twisted them around her finger. Over the last few weeks it had been harder and harder to take the rings off.

"Yes," Andy replied quietly. "I was married," she clarified.

"Was?" Traci echoed.

"Technically, I'm not, anymore," she rambled, her eyes on her fingers. "But I was."

"What happened?" Traci asked, suddenly feeling like she didn't necessarily want to know the answer, judging by Andy's demeanor.

Andy took a huge breath and sighed loudly. She took a sip of wine to steady her nerves, glanced around the room, her eyes landing on various objects before stopping on Traci, who looked concerned and worried for her.

"The short version? He died seven months ago," Andy stated, her voice wavering just a little bit.

"And the long version?" Traci prompted, reeling from the admission.

"He worked jointly with ETF and SRU as a bomb technician," Andy explained. She took another sip of wine, settled more deeply into the cushions of the loveseat and began her story. "He had been in the army before I met him. He was brilliant, a genius with gadgets, he could make a bomb from just about anything. When he got injured overseas, he retired from the army and joined the ETF in Vancouver."

"Vancouver? You didn't meet here?" Traci piped up. She had gotten comfortable on the sofa, intending to listen raptly to Andy.

"I went to school in Vancouver, then to the academy," Andy replied with a quick grin. "Met him one night after a long grueling day as a rookie, but that's another story," she said, waving her hand in the air.

"So, how did you both end up in Toronto?"

"When I was offered a position with SRU here, he secured a spot with the ETF and SRU. He mostly spent his days monitoring suspicious bags at the airports or federal buildings, but every now and then he'd have to come to call with SRU. Who knew issuing warrants could mean a bomb threat?" Andy explained sadly.

"Is that what happened?"

"Team 2 had issued a warrant to this one house, turns out there was a meth lab in the basement, someone on team 2 had tripped their booby traps. Derek was called in to diffuse the bomb and get the guy off the trigger. He had cleared the room afterwards, everyone was out of the house, he just had to pack up his bag and leave," Andy went on, her eyes distant – seeing something from seven months ago. Traci waited, her breath caught in her throat. She knew the ending, but didn't want to hear it said out loud. "He didn't even see the second bomb . . . a bomb that had been ticking down since he had made the first cut on the other one. . . . . At least he didn't have time to know what was going to happen," she ended, tears spilling over.

"Andy, I am so sorry," Traci said sympathetically. She moved to the loveseat and wrapped an arm around Andy's shoulders, a reversal of the locker room. "If I had known, I'd never have asked. It isn't anybody's business . . . ' she trailed off.

Andy sniffed and wiped at her eyes and cheeks.

"God, this is so messed up!" She said, sniffling through her tears. "You know, I have no idea what I even buried!"

Traci hugged her tighter, she could feel the tears seeping through her shirt, but didn't care. It no longer really mattered what had happened to her that day. She'd get over it. She'd move on. The guy had raped young girls and so deserved the ending he got after shooting an officer of the law and kidnapping a little girl. She wasn't so sure Andy would get over it or move on – the gruesome death of her husband by bomb. Even if she hadn't seen the photos of the scene, the images were still bound to take shape and distort over time.

"It's not fair," Andy said softly, her sobs subsiding. "I don't even remember getting the call. I only remember that morning, before he even left for work. I was still in bed and he was rushing around the room getting ready, grumbling about the mess and dirty clothes and other such stupid things. And I just blurted out 'do you want to have a baby' and he just stopped in his tracks and looked at me. He had this incredible smile and I realized he thought I was telling him I was pregnant. But I wasn't. I wanted us to try. He had said he'd wait until I was ready. That morning? I was ready. I had finished placebo week with my pills. I even tried to get him back into bed. He said we'd try that night. Then he was gone. A kiss and a smile . . . right before leaving . . . no other texts or calls during the day . . . then Greg is calling me in to his office . . . . and my life? As I knew it . . . over . . . gone . . . no little baby with Derek's beautiful smile," Andy finished, her throat raw from crying, her eyes bloodshot.

"Oh, Andy," Traci whispered, her own eyes wet with tears.

"And here you thought you'd hear some juicy tale about me and an ex-husband who cheated or something, right?" Andy teased through her sadness.

Traci laughed.

Andy tried to grin, but grimaced instead. "I haven't even cleared out his stuff yet," she said somewhat absentmindedly.

"Huh?" That caught Traci's attention.

"His stuff? It's still here surrounding me. I gave some stuff to his sister and his parents, but the rest? The every day stuff that holds no meaning except to me, it's still here."

"Do you? Do you want to get rid of it?" Traci asked haltingly.

"I . . . I think so," Andy answered, looking around the room. "I think it's time to let go."

"Well, why don't we? We've got time. I can help you bag up whatever you want and take it to Goodwill for you," Traci offered. "It might be easier to part with the stuff when you can't really see it," she added with a grin.

Andy finished off her second glass of wine and thought about it. Over the last couple of weeks, she had felt the urge to clean out the closets and the bathroom. To finally remove his things from the house, but it had felt like a betrayal to his memory.

"I think Derek would have wanted you to move on with your life, right?" Traci asked hesitantly. "I mean, he didn't come out and tell you, if I die I want you to pine for me for the rest of your life, right?"

Andy grinned at that. "No, definitely not." She bit her bottom lip, squared her shoulders and pushed herself off the loveseat. "Okay, let's do this."

Traci jumped up off the loveseat. "Alright, you get trash bags and I'll get the candles."

Andy nodded and went to the kitchen, finally ready to take the first step to moving on with her life.


	5. Chapter 5ish

**A.N. Here is a short vignette of what I have been working on. I didn't just want to post an author's note stating I am writing the next chapter. So, this is just the first part and I'll most likely re-post when the rest of it is complete. Real life has gotten in the way of a lot of writing time and it'll probably stay busy this month, but I'll try my hardest to post more regularly than I have.**

**Enjoy!**

CHAPTER FIVE -ish

"_Shit!" Sam muttered to himself, slamming the door to his car shut. He glanced up at the small brown townhouse and cursed a bit more. The windows were dark and it looked like nobody was home. Definitely not the raging party he had expected to find. Then again, he was supposed to have been there four hours ago._

_The sun was already setting and the streetlamps were turning on in the waning light. He had promised Tommy a month ago he would make it to Andy's graduation party. It had been well over nine months since the last time he had seen her, she had been busy with school and he had gone through training with the Guns and Gangs unit to prep for his first undercover assignment. _

_He had missed the actual graduation ceremony the night before due to pulling a last minute second shift. Tommy had called and warned him to not miss the party or Andy would never let him hear the end of it. He had overslept and by the time he had showered, dressed and wrapped the gift he had bought forever ago and never got around to wrapping, the sun was going down and the party was over._

_Sam glanced at his watch, ran his hand through his hair and trudged up the stairs to the front door with a sigh. Time to face the piper, Sam thought with a grimace._

_The doorbell rang hollowly. Sam listened carefully, trying to hear any sounds on the other side of the door. He tried the bell again and while it echoed through the house, he jiggled the doorknob and was surprised when it turned easily. The door swung open silently. Sam stepped over the threshold, looking to the right for any movement. The house was dark and silent._

"_Hello?" He called out. "Anyone home?"_

_Sam shut the door firmly and turned the deadbolt. He placed the gift on the coffee table, next to the remains of a white sheet cake with some seriously bright pink frosting. He flipped on the lamp and surveyed the damage. White, silver and pink balloons floated in bunches in the corners of the room, a large CONGRATULATIONS banner hung from the ceiling molding between the dining room and living room. A pile of opened gifts crowded the sofa; bottles of beer and cans of soda littered the dining table, stacks of paper plates poked out of the trash bin in the middle of the kitchen. It looked like someone had started to clean and gave up._

_Movement out on the deck caused him to pause and stare out the sliding glass door. Andy moved purposefully across the deck with a black trash bag in hand, throwing plates, cups and other refuse into it. A couple of tiki torches mounted to the railings still flickered casting a warm glow on her._

_Sam swallowed hard. She wore a pale pink sundress that stopped well above her knees and white flip flops. Her long brown hair tumbled down her back in waves. He couldn't pull his eyes away. He walked slowly to the door and rapped his knuckles lightly against the glass. Andy whirled around; her hand pressed her to chest. She grinned when she saw who it was._

_Sam opened the door and stepped out onto the deck. The night air was thick, the beginnings of a humid heat wave. Andy continued to clean up the deck._

"_You missed my party," she stated bluntly, she peered over her shoulder to make sure Sam had an appropriate contrite look on his face._

"_Sorry," he replied with a grin. He stacked the remaining plates and napkins from the table and dumped the whole lot into the trash bag. Andy looked at him from under bangs just a little too short to tuck behind her ear. Sam smiled wider, dimples popping out. _

_She huffed out a breath, blowing her bangs out of her eyes and took a step back from him._

"_Not like you missed much," she said with a shrug._

"_Oh yeah? Like what?" Sam asked. He tied the bag closed and chucked it over the side of the railing and onto the grass where two others sat._

"_Pierce punched David for kissing his girlfriend," Andy answered with a laugh. "There was blood everywhere!"_

"_Didn't you date Pierce? Or was it David?" Sam asked, leaning his back against the railing with his arms crossed, careful of the burning tiki torch._

_Andy shook her head smiling at him. She put her hands on the railing and pushed her feet between the slats. "Pierce is just a friend. David and I dated very briefly in first year," Andy replied. "Very briefly. Like a blip of time." She clarified._

"_Never could keep track of all your boyfriends," Sam retorted, bumping his shoulder against hers. "What else happened?"_

"_The D's and Dad played some poker," she answered. "I won a hundred off them. It was fun."_

"_Got any good presents in there?"_

"_Eh, the usual," came the reply. _

_They stood in silence. Andy with her eyes focused on the sky and the stars as they started to come out. Sam watched her, taking in the changes nine months had brought. Since finding out her mom had ditched her in the middle of the night when she was barely fourteen, Sam had made an effort to check on her, especially after discovering Tommy slowly falling into an alcoholic haze. Sam made sure to check in at the Penny after shift and bring Tommy home before Andy had to come get him. He didn't get there every time and the few times he had seen Andy half-drag her father out of the bar, struggling under the weight of his arm around her shoulders, it had been a kick to the gut each time. She refused his help when offered, giving him a glare to go with her sharp words._

_He had seen her end up in the hospital after a tumble off her skateboard at the park, doing who knew what to end up with a broken wrist, bruised ribs and road rash down her left side. Tommy had been beside himself with anger and being completely drunk at the time, had made the unwise decision to yell at her, calling into question the reason behind Mrs. McNally's leaving. Needless to say, Sam had had to pull Tommy away. Andy had lain there quietly taking the accusation and when Sam finally got back to her room, she had turned away from the door and asked him quietly to leave._

_Her hair had been cut shoulder length and had streaks of purple in it. He wasn't sure why that detail had stayed with him._

_For four years, he had been on the sidelines watching her grow up. She grew taller and leaner. Her hair grew longer and longer, until it was constantly either braided or in a sleek ponytail. She began to wear make-up, nothing too heavy, as she really didn't need it and only seemed to put it on when there was a guy around. _

_And if there was one thing Andy attracted it were the guys. Tommy's one gripe had been not being able to keep up with Andy's boyfriends. Sam commiserated with Tommy, but felt his gut clench every time a new name popped up in conjunction with Andy._

"_Hey, thanks for coming," Andy said suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Even if you did miss the actual party," she added._

"_Sorry," he said. _

"_Hey, I get it," she said hurriedly. "You're a busy guy and it was a stupid graduation party. I'm sure you had more important things to do."_

"_Not really, I worked until early this morning and then forgot to set the alarm," he explained. _

_Andy nodded and went back to looking at the sky. Sam turned to face her and stared at her profile. In the glow from the torches, her skin was a rosy pink, spreading across her cheekbones to her ears. A tendril of hair had blown over her shoulder and Sam had the overwhelming urge to brush it back behind her ear. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and tore his eyes away._

_One thing about her growing up, it made the excuses for staying away weaken. She was still little more than a teenager, but at eighteen, Andy was all woman, soft curves and a beautiful face._

"_I brought you a present," Sam said suddenly, the silence between them causing his brain to focus on things he shouldn't, like how she smelled of flowers and coconuts or how long and tanned her legs looked._

"_Really?" She said turning to him quickly with a huge grin._

"_Yeah, it's inside," he said jerking his head towards the door. "You done out here?"_

_Andy glanced around and quickly blew out the torches, grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him in to the dining room._

"_Ugh, it's going to take forever to clean up," she groaned, picking her way around the mess and headed in to the living room._

"_Where's Tommy?" Sam asked._

"_Where do you think?" Andy said with a grimace. She flopped onto the sofa, pulling her legs up underneath her, reached back and pulled the cord on the lamp beside the sofa. Soft light filtered into the room, illuminating her from behind. "Gimme my present," she demanded with a smile and held out her hands._

"_Hold your horses," he laughed softly. He picked up the small package and sat down on the sofa facing her, one leg pulled up and the other foot planted firmly on the floor._

_Andy squirmed with happiness and took the long flat package wrapped in deep blue paper with small graduation caps on it from him. She traced her finger slowly along the seam. Sam held his breath as the paper came undone. Andy threw it on the table and stared at the grey box for a long moment before opening it._

"_It's beautiful," she whispered when she saw what was inside. When she looked up at him, her eyes were shiny with tears and the smile had slipped from her lips. Sam reached out slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her jaw as he pulled away._

"_Help me?" She asked._

_Sam nodded and plucked the bracelet from the box. He had found it while in St. Catharine's visiting his sister, a sterling silver charm bracelet with a 15 dangling off it in the center. Andy held out her left arm and he slid the bracelet on, clasping it so it fit snug. He held her hand in his, rubbing his thumbs over the pulse point in her wrist._

"_So you don't forget who your true family is," he whispered and finally gave in to every messed up emotion he had suppressed for four long years._

_He lowered his head and kissed her wrist, feeling the cool metal of the bracelet and the fast beat of her heart under his lips. Andy gasped at the contact. Raising his head, their gazes locked, her eyes wide and the sheen of tears gone. He felt her heart speed up where his thumb rested against her wrist._

"_I don't think I could forget even if I wanted to," she whispered. _

_Andy raised her right hand and traced her fingertips lightly over his cheek before resting her hand on his neck. With the barest of pressure she pulled his face closer and pressed her lips to his. She felt him inhale sharply and the grip on her left wrist tighten. She opened her eyes as she broke the kiss and found him staring at her. _

"_Andy," he breathed with a warning look in his eyes._

_She tugged her left hand from his grasp and locked her hands on his neck. She scooted forward so her knees grazed his leg on the cushion between them. She leaned in and kissed him again, this time with a little more pressure._

_For an instant, Sam froze, feeling her soft lips on his, her scent assailing his senses. He felt her hum against his lips and her fingers thread lightly through the hair on the nape of his neck. His hands found her waist and pulled her in closer, she grinned hard against his lips and gasped when he slanted his mouth across hers and took the kiss deeper._

_Her kisses were intoxicating. Definitely inexperienced, but eager and picked up quickly on what he liked. She bit lightly against his bottom lip before pulling it between her teeth stroking her tongue against it. Holding back a moan, Sam felt her release his lip and before giving him a chance to recover, she slipped her tongue between his lips and licked his tongue._

"_Wait . . . wait," Sam whispered, pulling away. _

"_No," Andy said and leaned back in. She had muscled her way into his lap without him being aware of it. His arms were wrapped around her trim waist. She nearly straddled him in this weird contortion they had gotten into. If she only leaned forward an inch she'd know exactly what she was doing to him._

_His mind was warring with his body, telling him she was too young, too inexperienced, nevermind that her father could come home and see them together and then his days on the force would be over. _

_Statutory rape._

_The term slammed in to his brain at the exact moment Andy rocked her hips down._

"_Stop," Sam said harshly, pushing her away and off him._

_She landed against the arm of the sofa; her pretty dress riding high on her thighs, her cheeks flushed pink and lips swollen._

"_Sam?" She questioned quietly, her hand resting lightly on his knee._

_He brushed her hand away and got shakily to his feet. He ran a hand over his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. He couldn't look at her. _

"_I'm sorry," he finally said._

"_I'm not," she replied a hint of teasing in her voice. "Come back, I won't bite," she teased and patted the spot beside her._

"_Andy," Sam muttered and finally raised his gaze from the floor to her. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have kissed you."_

"_I kissed you," she stated, her grin in place. "I'll kiss you again if you come over here."_

_Sam shook his head. _

"_It's okay. I wanted to kiss you. It's not like you were forcing me too," she said._

_Andy slid off the sofa, smoothed down her dress and walked over to him. She wrapped her hands around his bicep and hugged him close. He could feel the round softness of her breast pressing into his arm. He felt her place soft kisses on his shoulder as her fingers trailed lightly over the muscle._

"_Andy, you have to stop," Sam said through gritted teeth. He shrugged out of her embrace and took a few steps away from her._

_Andy stared at him with a mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes. _

"_I'm not a child anymore, Sam," she finally said. Sam huffed a laugh, his grin quick and bright._

"_Yes, you are."_

"_I'm eighteen."_

"_You just graduated so now you're an adult, is that it?" Sam retorted. "You're a child, Andy! And I shouldn't have allowed this to happen."_

"_Now you're noble?" Andy said with disdain, crossing her arms under her breasts._

"_Noble?" Sam echoed with quiet disbelief._

"_Yes, noble! Don't think I haven't seen the way you've looked at me! You've been wanting to kiss me for at least two years! So, don't go getting all high and mighty, Sam! I wanted to kiss you and you wanted to kiss me. Big whoop!" Andy burst out. _

_He could feel the anger and rejection emanating off her in waves. He wanted to explain why he should have waited to kiss her, why it was so inappropriate for it to happen now. _

"_It doesn't change the fact that I'm too old to go around kissing eighteen year old girls," Sam bit out._

_Andy snorted softly._

"_Your father could have me arrested," Sam protested somewhat weakly._

"_That's the best you can do? My father is out drinking. I'll be lucky if he gets home before the sun comes up," she replied with raised eyebrows._

"_Just don't," he pleaded "It was wrong and we need to forget it happened."_

_Andy stared at him. He couldn't figure out what was going on in her head. had never meant to hurt her or cause her confusion or make her think there could ever be something between them._

"_Fine. It never happened," she finally replied._

_Sam breathed out a sigh of relief. He ran a hand over his face, rubbing at the bridge of his nose._

"_I should go."_

_"Yeah, you should," Andy agreed with icy coldness in her voice._

_Sam looked at her sharply. Gone were the rosy cheeks and swollen lips, her face was pale with anger and she held her body stiffly. She wouldn't look him in the eyes but off to the side as though assessing the damage of the party._

_He nodded once and walked past her to the front door. He paused and looked back at her warily. "So, I'll see you at the poker game end of next week?" He asked hesitantly._

"_I won't be there," she answered._

"_Busy?"_

"_I'll be in Vancouver."_

_Sam's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. _

"_I'm leaving, Sam," Andy explained when it looked like he had nothing to say._

"_Leaving?" His brain couldn't process the concept of Andy not being around._

_Andy sighed heavily. "If you were around more you'd know. Or if you actually listened to my dad on occasion. I was accepted to UBC on a full scholarship. Track and Field." She explained._

"_But . . . . huh?"_

"_Dad had saved enough to allow me to go early and get a summer session in before regular classes start in the fall. I think he's relieved I'll be out of the house."_

"_UBC on scholarship. That's great, Andy!" Sam finally managed to get out._

_She finally smiled at him and met his eyes. They stood in the foyer staring at each other. It was one of those moments Sam knew would end up defining a person's life. One decision could take him down one path and another in the complete opposite direction._

"_You were leaving," she said tearing her eyes away from him. "I have loads to get done before I leave. Laundry, packing, clean-up," she trailed off, waving her arm around the messy room._

"_Andy," Sam said softly, taking a hesitant step towards her. _

"_Just go," she said briskly. "I'm not going to throw myself at you. I wanted to kiss you and I did. You wanted to stop and you did."_

_"That's not why, Andy," Sam began, but stopped when she raised a hand._

"_I'd rather forget this whole thing happened, okay?" She said, her cheeks flushing pink. "Just promise me you'll stay safe out there?"_

"_Always," Sam said. "You too."_

"_I guess, I'll see you when I see you," she said softly. "And don't worry, I won't forget." She added, raising her left arm up to show him the bracelet. "You can let yourself out."_

_Sam watched as she brushed past him and ascend the stairs. She had turned the corner out of sight by the time he thought of something to say to bring her back. He didn't want to leave without knowing when he'd see her again. But the sound of a door slamming shut stopped him from shouting out._

_With a heavy sigh and dropping shoulders, Sam opened the front door and stepped out into the night. He trudged slowly across the front lawn to his car. He paused before getting behind the wheel. The light in the living room was still the only light on in the house. He looked up at the window to her room and thought for a brief moment that she stood there watching him._

_But it was just the curtain waving in the breeze._


	6. Chapter 6 - Now What?

Chapter 6 – Now what?

Sam woke with a pounding head, fuzzy tongue and incoherent memories of the night before. He was still in the jeans and tee he wore leaving work. He grunted and ran a hand over his face trying to place what had woken him up, when a little finger poked him in the arm.

"Wake up, Uncle Sammy!" a giggly voice whispered excitedly in his ear. "Daddy says it's time to wake up!"

Sam squinted and found the littlest Shaw daughter leaning over the back of the couch, bright blue eyes and curly pigtails. She giggled again and patted him on the shoulder.

"Mommy is making pancakes! Hurry, 'fore Izzy and Maddie eat it all!" She said and slipped down to the ground, her feet pounding a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

Sam sighed heavily and swung his legs off the couch, then eased to a sitting position. His head pounded hard enough to cause his vision to black out, he groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Good look on you, Sammy," Zoe's mellow voice stated from the doorway to his left. "I'm so glad to see you continue to exhibit a stellar role model for my impressionable girls," she continued with little bite.

He could only manage a slightly rude hand gesture before spots appeared in his vision.

"Even better," Zoe said. "Good thing the girls didn't see that . . .. Well the younger two, Izzy could give you a run for your money in rudeness," she trailed off thoughtfully.

"Good morning to you to, Zo," he finally said.

"Breakfast is ready."

He gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. He heard her walk away and call up the stairs to the girls. His head had ceased pounding and had settled into a low throb behind his eyes, which felt dry and itchy. The memories from the night before had slowly crept back in.

McNally had kissed him in the back alley of the Penny.

Which had promptly caused him to push her away and her running away with Nash had caused him to cajole Jerry into taking a few shots. But how the hell had he ended up on Shaw's couch?

"Hey, buddy," Shaw wheezed out, startling Sam out of his reverie. 

Zoe had an arm around his waist to help support him as they walked. She helped him ease down into his favorite recliner. Once he was settled, she whipped out an old afghan that had seen better days and tucked it around his legs.

"Thanks, baby," he whispered and squeezed her hand.

"I'll bring you a plate," she stated, kissed his forehead and headed back to the kitchen.

"How you feeling, brother?" Sam asked, finally keeping his eyes opened.

"Oh you know, like I've been shot," he replied with a smirk.

"What did the doctors say?"

"A couple of cracked ribs and bruising. I'll be on medical leave for a month, then desk duty before I'm cleared to go back out," he answered. "I heard Nash got the guy."

Sam nodded and pointedly ignored when his head started pounding again with the movement.

"I feel like hell, but you look it," Shaw deadpanned.

"Suckered Jerry into taking shots." 

"I think you were the one suckered. Jerry dropped your ass on my couch late last night saying he didn't want you at his place . . . just had the carpet cleaned or something."

"He's an ass."

"Maybe, but he was more sober than you," Shaw agreed. "What happened last night?"

Sam opened and then closed his mouth when Zoe appeared in the doorway with two loaded plates. She set one on the coffee table in front of Sam with a pointed look towards the floor and the other on her husband's lap. Sam slid onto the floor and stretched his legs under the table. The closer his mouth to the food the less likely it would end up on the floor.

"So? What made you think it would be a good thing to take shots with Barber?" Shaw prodded, and then stuffed his mouth full of syrup-drenched pancake.

Sam shrugged, took a bite and tried to get his wandering brain to function. Now that he was thinking about it, he couldn't stop remembering how soft McNally's skin felt, her hot breath against his mouth, how she had lifted onto her toes to get closer to him. He had no idea how he had managed to push her away when every fiber of his being had wanted to pull her closer, kiss her deeper, bring her flush against the brick wall of the bar, never losing contact with her hot body.

"Earth to Sammy," Shaw's voice pierced his thoughts and Sam finally looked at his friend.

"Just being stupid, I guess," he answered.

"Yeah, sure, totally believe you," Shaw said with a roll of his eyes.

ooo

"Yay! You came!" Andy nearly squealed after opening her front door. "Gimme!"

Jules giggled at her best friend's enthusiasm and handed over the baby carrier. Andy grabbed the handle and twisted it around to glance inside. Big dark brown eyes stared back at her solemnly. Andy grinned at the baby and laughed when she got a gummy smile in return.

"She's adorable!" Andy said, she hooked the handle in the crook of her right elbow and motioned for Jules to follow her. "Where's Braddock?"

Jules glanced over her shoulder to see out the front door. "In the truck, apparently."

Andy had already placed the carrier on the coffee table and was quickly unbuckling the baby. After the straps were out of the way, Andy reached in and tugged her out. Floppy brown curls covered her head and were held back with little clips over each ear.

"She is getting so big," she said to Jules. "Hi sweetie! How is my beautiful goddaughter?" She asked the little girl who giggled and tried to grab Andy's nose in reply.

"Eight months tomorrow. It feels like no time at all," Jules said as she dropped down on to the couch opposite.

"You're back at work already? You didn't feel like taking the full time off?" Andy asked, bouncing the little girl on her thighs.

"Nah, call me a non-traditional mom. As much as I love my daughter, I love my job too much to spend a year away from it. Plus Greg would have to replace me and I worked too hard for team one to let that happen!"

"Will Braddock take time?" The little girl kept trying to grab Andy's nose, so Andy bounced her up and down until the baby kicked her legs harder each time her feet connected with Andy's thighs.

"Yeah, Greg would rather lose one of us at a time for a shorter period of time than both of us at once. Sam starts his leave tomorrow," Jules replied reaching out to tweak her daughter's ear.

"Hey! There are my favorite women!" Braddock called as he walked into the living room.

"I'm just admiring your handiwork," Andy said with a grin. "You did good, Daddy."

Braddock grinned, sat on the arm of the couch and leaned over to kiss the top of his wife's head.

"So, it's always great to see you and it's been too long, but there's another reason why you invited us over," Jules finally addressing the elephant on the room.

Andy ducked her head and propped the baby on her lap, holding her securely with one arm around her middle.

Braddock and Jules waited and watched patiently. It had been too long and they could tell the intervening months had subtly changed their friend, they just weren't sure if the change was for the better or not.

"Hey, we're not going to judge, you know that right?" Braddock asked reaching over to place a large hand on her knee and squeezed gently.

"I know. It's just... difficult ... " she stuttered. She stroked her free hand against the baby's curls.

"Have you met someone?"

"Jesus, Jules! You promised!" Braddock scolded, tugging on her ponytail.

"What? It's been months," she said and to Andy, "no one will ever judge you if you have met someone new."

Andy thought back to the few times Sam would seek her out at work and then the kiss the night before. She wasn't sure if she was ready to move on from Derek, but she knew it was time to open her heart to the possibility of life after him.

"There isn't anyone. Not yet, anyway." Andy took a deep breath and snuggled the baby closer, gathering her courage. "I've started to clean out Derek's things."

Jules shared a quick look with Braddock. "Honey, we thought you did that ages ago!"

"Are you saying you've been living surrounded by Derek's things?" Braddock asked quietly.

Andy nodded blinking back a sudden rush of tears.

"I have a couple of boxes of things I'd like to give to you. I went through his records and kept the ones that meant something to us, but the rest are for you. I know how much you two loved digging for old albums."

Braddock flashed a wide grin. "Hell yeah, we had fun. I hope you didn't keep all the good ones!"

"I also threw in the PS3 and all the games. I don't play any of the games. There are other odds and ends of stuff. You can keep it or throw it. It doesn't matter to me."

Jules grasped Andy's hand and squeezed hard.

"We'll take it off your hands."

"Anything else new going on with Team 1?"

They talked for a while, catching up on each other's news beyond the few Face Time chats they'd had. Andy told them about the few cases she had helped on and what it was like working at her dad's old division. She told them of the friends she was making and how different her Sergeant was from Parker.

Braddock filled Andy in on the new team members for Team 1. One had moved up from Team 2 and the other had moved in from ETF. Parker was hard on all of them and had increased their training hours. Braddock divulged that Parker had attempted contact with his son in Texas and they were nearing reconciliation.

Jules' news was more towards the baby and how motherhood and marriage had changed her world. The baby spent the entire time in Andy's lap, squealing happily every time one of them tickled her sides or neck.

It was a nice morning to have with her friends. Although, her heart ached for what Derek was missing, she was beginning to realize she didn't need to be sad all the time, she could laugh with friends and rejoice in new babies and new jobs.

It was nearing noon when Braddock insisted they had to leave. He had to work that evening and Jules wanted to get the baby back home for her afternoon nap.

Braddock went to the kitchen to grab the first of three boxes filled with Derek's things. Andy followed him cradling the baby in her arms.

"I'm going to pack up the baby's things and get the car seat back in the car," Jules announced, the diaper bag slung over her shoulder and the car seat at her feet. "Take your time and snuggle. I promise we won't wait so long to visit again."

Andy leaned in and wrapped an arm around Jules whispering her thanks.

Braddock picked up the final box a few minutes later and followed Andy out to the driveway. Jules had settled into the passenger side and was talking rapidly on the phone.

He dropped the box into the bed of the truck. Andy held the baby up and blew a raspberry on her tummy causing the girl to giggle and grab at her hair. Andy laughed loud and brightly, her hair wrapped around chubby fingers.

Braddock grinned when he turned back to them. "Baby girl, that is not nice!" He admonished with a huge smile.

He pried his daughter's fingers out of Andy's hair and settled her into his arms.

"Don't be a stranger, McNally," Braddock said gently, wrapping an arm around her and kissed her temple.

"Thank you for being an amazing friend to Derek."

"Hey, I'm your friend too, sweetie." He dropped his arm and swiftly strapped the baby into her car seat behind Jules. After closing the door, he turned once more to Andy and wrapped both arms around her and lifted her off her feet squeezing tight. "We love you and there is nothing you can say or do that is going to disappoint us. So, don't be afraid to love again. Derek would have wanted it for you. I just know he's up there rooting for you."

Andy closed her eyes and willed the tears away.

"Thank you," she whispered and let him go.

Braddock gave her one more quick kiss on the forehead before walking briskly around the front of his truck to the driver's side.

Andy stepped back and waited until the truck had pulled out of the driveway to turn back towards the house. A loud roar caused her to look over her shoulder. She caught a quick glimpse of a silver truck pulling away from the curb across the street with tires squealing.

For a brief moment, she locked eyes with Sam Swarek.

She cursed and nearly stamped her foot. She could only imagine what he had thought of her interaction with Braddock and the baby. The look on his face had been a mixture of shock, hurt and anger.

Sam had made it to the end of the block and then hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. He swore vehemently, choosing the most colorful words in his repertoire to express his disgust and anger.

He had left the Shaw's after breakfast, made it home and stumbled into the shower. After the hottest shower his body could have handled, he popped three Advil and downed a bottle of water. He had wanted to get over to Andy's to ask her what the hell she had been thinking kissing him like that.

Feeling slightly more normal he had jumped in his truck and drove the short distance over to her place. He had just pulled up the curb across the street from her pretty white house when she had walked out the front door.

At first he only noticed the sun shining in her beautiful brown hair. It was when she turned back towards the tall blond haired man following her that he noticed she carried a baby in her arms.

He watched with a sickening feeling in his stomach as Andy played with the baby, laughing and nearly tossing her in the air before the baby made a grab for her hair. The tall man had laughed with them, untangling the baby and then wrapping both in his arms. He felt his world tilt when the man kissed Andy.

He wasn't sure where the man was going with boxes and a baby, but he had given Andy several kisses and a huge bear hug before leaving, the both of them smiling the entire time.

Sam had the truck in drive before the other man's truck was out of the driveway. He pressed on the gas harder than he intended and the resultant roar from the engine caused Andy to look over her shoulder. He caught her eye and tried desperately to hide the shock and anger from her.

So, now he sat in his truck at the end of her block with no idea why she had kissed him when she had a beautiful baby and obviously devoted husband waiting for her at home.

He cursed again, hit the wheel and stepped on the gas heading towards the only place he could think of to go.

A.N. This is a bit shorter than I usually am and there is so much more that I wanted to get to in this chapter, but the characters took their own way instead.

I love reviews and would love to hear what you have to say!


	7. Chapter 7 - The Truth Will Out

CHAPTER 7 - The Truth Will Out

"_C'mon, brother!" Oliver clapped him hard on the shoulder and pushed him forward. "I think we both need a drink."_

_On any other night, Sam would have agreed wholeheartedly and followed. Tonight, however, the only place he wanted to be was at home, nursing a scotch in private. The day had been shit from the moment he left on patrol._

_The first call of the day had been a domestic disturbance. The violence had escalated swiftly. He could still hear the pop from his gun and the fucker's slow motion collapse to the floor. The bile has risen to his throat instantly when he saw he had been too slow. The wife was facedown on the floor next to him with blood seeping out from the wound in her head. The metallic tang of blood had filled his senses and it was a miracle he had made it to the kitchen sink before puking._

_And in the end, husband and wife were dead and two little girls were traumatized, having seen the entire crime. _

"_I don't think so," Sam replied, sidestepping to get Oliver's hand off his shoulder._

"_Yes, you are. I don't care if you mope at the bar and nurse a drink the entire night. You need to be surrounded by people, not suffering in private."_

_Oliver stopped and stared at his best friend. They had gone to the academy together, but started their careers at difference divisions. In the years since they both worked at 15, they were partnered whenever Sam wasn't undercover. He knew exactly what Sam would do if left to his own devices. And Oliver knew he needed a warm body to help him get through the night. Badge bunny or not. He didn't care. He refused to see his best friend slip down the rabbit hole of regret and what-ifs._

"_Ollie." Sam sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Fine. Let's go."_

_They drove separately and met in the parking lot a few minutes later. The lot was full, music blasted out of the open doors, the early summer warmth giving a nice breeze; several badge bunnies loitered out the door, scouting for new arrivals._

_Sam gave them a once over as he and Oliver made their way inside. The leggy blonde smiled back, her breasts barely contained in a skin-tight tank; short shorts hugged the tops of her thighs and sky-high heels in siren red. Sam nodded at her and winked before disappearing through the door._

"_Grab us a table, I'll get the first round," Ollie yelled over the music and conversation flowing in the overcrowded space._

_Sam gave a cursory glance and found Frank and Jerry in the corner with their wives. He made his way over. He wasn't a huge fan of Jerry's wife, Angela, but Frank's was a sweet girl who always blushed at his teasing._

"_Sam! Grab a chair, c'mere sweetie," Jerry yelled at him while pulling Angela out of her chair and into his lap. She rolled her eyes at him and smirked at Sam._

"_Today was a bitch day. How are you holding up?" Frank asked. He took a long pull on his lager._

"_I'm great. A couple days off and a shrink visit. I'll be back before you can miss me."_

_Ollie set a tumbler of scotch in front of Sam before sitting down with a pitcher of beer and two glasses. He gestured for the rest of the table to help them selves. _

_While the rest caught up, teased and laughed at each other, Sam took a moment to sip at his drink. At the first lick of heat in his throat he began to relax. He knew there had been nothing he could do to diffuse the situation and that pulling the trigger was the only option when a violent guy aimed a gun at his head, but it didn't make it any easier to squeeze that trigger._

_Two sips more later Sam began to assess the badge bunnies in the bar. Most nights he could pick up one or two for a game of pool, some flirting, maybe some groping and kissing in the back hallway before heading back to their place. He wasn't interested tonight, even though the blonde from outside had made her way in and was giving him some serious bedroom eyes._

_He had just turned back to answer Jerry's question about some asinine protocol procedure, when he heard an honest to God belly laugh from the back of the bar, near the dart boards._

_Sam saw her immediately. She had long bronzed legs, wore a short white skirt, blouse, and her dark brown hair was in a sleek ponytail. She had thrown her head back and laughed, her hand holding on to a tall college guy's shoulder. He was grinning at her and the group surrounding them burst into giggles as Sam watched. She exchanged high fives with the tall guy. They all looked to be college aged, definitely not the usual bunnies, probably on holiday for the summer. The Penny would be an odd choice of destinations for most college kids. They tended to head towards the clubs downtown that offered dancing and headache-inducing bass beats. _

"_Hey, your turn for drinks," Ollie shouted into his ear nearly forty minutes later. "Stop staring and get us more beer!"_

_Sam grinned and took off for the bar. The new bartender, Liam, barely out of school and tatted up on his arms was at the end of the bar chatting with one of the regular bunnies, Margery. He looked over right as Sam held up his hand._

"_Another round, Sam?" He asked even as he started filling another pitcher of their preferred beer._

"_Thanks."_

_He tapped his fingers on the wood top to the beat of the music. For once the music was more to his style, The Who blared through the speakers. For a young guy, Liam had an eclectic taste in music; Sam preferred the nights Liam decided what music played._

"_Sam?" _

_The voice was incredulous, feminine and near his right elbow. Sam glanced behind him, his jaw dropping open._

"_Andy?" _

"_Oh my God, it is you!" _

_She launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly. Sam caught her instinctively, marveling at seeing her again. It had been three fucking years._

_When she stepped back, blushing sheepishly, it occurred to Sam that she had been the one laughing in the corner. The mini skirt hugged her hips, flaring around the top of her thighs. Her blouse gave a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage and showcased her toned shoulders and arms. _

"_What are you doing here?" _

_Andy waved spastically towards her group of friends as if that explained it all. "Home for holiday. A bunch of us from high school got together to catch up."_

"_Ah."_

"_How are you doing? Still at 15 with my dad?"_

"_Yeah, yeah."_

_They fell silent, each taking in the differences three years had made in the other. Andy had grown even more beautiful than he remembered. Her face had lost some of the baby fat of her teen years. Her hair was shorter. She wore darker make up, her eyes enhanced dramatically. Sam forced himself to keep his eyes on hers and off her cleavage, her legs. It was the first time in years he felt exactly how old he was. The downside to waiting for someone to grow up is the person waiting had to age too._

_Not one to let an opportunity pass, Andy started chatting about school, her classes, professors, track practice, dabbling in Krav Magra, her roommates. Anything and everything fell from her._

_Without thinking, they sat down at the bar, sharing the pitcher of beer meant for his friends. He told her about work, buying his first house, her dad. The blonde badge bunny attempted to interrupt, Andy amusing Sam with her scowl to send her on her way._

_Oliver had said a quiet good-bye on his way out. Andy had waved off her friends with a quick eyebrow conversation with one of the girls._

_Sam barely noticed the bar slowly emptying, music turned down low, Liam wiping down the bar top. He only concentrated on Andy. She was so animated while talking, her zest for life erupting in her every gesture._

"_You wanna get out of here?" He finally asked her quietly. _

"_Definitely."_

_Sam quickly closed out their tab with Liam. When Andy walked a head of him, his hand touched the small of her back lightly to guide her; she gave him a look over her shoulder that sent his heart racing. His fingers pressed in harder right above the swell of her bottom._

_The drive from the Penny to his place was a quick one. He had bought the town house for its proximity to 15. It was small, but it was his. Andy followed him up the stairs silently, watching with wide eyes as he slipped the key in. He stepped inside first, holding the door for her._

_He didn't know if he reached for her or she grabbed him, he only knew that his lips were on hers, plundering, licking her bottom lip, tugging gently with his teeth before sinking into her mouth, stroking her tongue with his. He walked her backwards, kicking the door shut behind him, until her back met the wall. _

_He tore his lips from hers at the thump of her back hitting the wall. She stared back at him with wide eyes, her lips swollen and chest heaving with shallow breaths._

"_Andy . . ." He warned, nearly begging her with his eyes._

_She nodded slowly, her hands sifting through the hair on the nape of his neck, fingernails lightly scratching his neck. She pulled him back in. _

_He gave up the fight he had been having for the last five years where Andy McNally was concerned._

(…)

"Figured I'd find you here."

Sam jerked out of his reverie and found the object of his anger standing much like she did that night so long ago. He grimaced and took a healthy gulp of his scotch and winced at the burn in his throat. He refused to cough.

She only watched with arms folded across her chest, her eyebrow arched as though she knew exactly what he was hiding from her.

"It's a little early for scotch, don'tcha think?"

"What do you care?" He forced out.

She sighed and hopped up onto the bar stool next to him. Liam was at the other end of the bar giving them a modicum of privacy. The bar was relatively empty with just a couple of cops in the back booth enjoying a cup of coffee.

Sam kept ignoring her, hoping she'd take the hint and leave him alone. He could still she her smile at her husband in the driveway and how beautiful her daughter looked in her arms. He mentally kicked down the image of the family they should have had. He had always held out hope she'd come back to Toronto, that they'd work through whatever it was that caused her leave in the first place and maybe, possibly become a family together. She was the only one he had ever wanted. All other women had paled in comparison. None had given him a glimpse of the future as Andy had.

"I know what you thought and you're wrong," Andy finally says, quietly, her fingers twisting together on top of the bar.

Sam glances at her out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't turn his head, doesn't want to encourage her, but curious about what she thinks he thought.

"I thought I'd come to 15 and keep my private life private, you know? I didn't want any drama. I just wanted to work my shifts, learn to be a detective, go home at night. I didn't want to cause any rumors."

She's quiet when she starts talking. Sam stops himself from nodding in encouragement. He doesn't care.

"I forgot how high school the divisions are, the constant rumor mill, and the switching of partners, infidelity and just all of it. It had been a while since I dealt with that. SRU is a different type of family. There are no secrets between team members and interoffice relationships are not allowed."

She pauses, leans over the bar and grabs a water bottle next to the register; she holds it up to Liam before sitting back down. Andy twists the cap and takes a drink.

When she continues it's with a deep breath as though to steady her self.

"I wasn't expecting you to still be at 15. You surprised the hell out of me at the Anton Hill bust. I knew there was an undercover cop, but I had no idea. On my first day, I just had no idea how to talk to you, Sam. You were always there for me growing up. And I allowed one night seven years to put this distance between us."

"Why, Andy?" Sam choked out. He turned to face her fully, grabbed her hands needing the contact. "Why did you leave?"

Andy stared at their hands; their fingers entwined and swallowed a sob. It had been so long since a man had held her hand, so long since Sam had touched her in any type of intimacy.

"You scared me. My feelings scared me," she said in a whisper. She looked up into his eyes. "You're all I had ever wanted. I had come to the Penny that night hoping you'd be there. And when I saw you, I got so nervous I just start spouting whatever came to my mind. Then you asked if I wanted to get out of there. The look in your eyes, it was everything I had ever wanted. Ever since I was sixteen, I had wanted you to look at me like that."

"Me too." He admitted, squeezing her hand. His thumb brushed over her knuckles. His gaze homed in on her ring finger. She wasn't wearing her wedding ring. A white band of pale skin showed where it normally rested. He rubbed his thumb against the smooth skin, his eyes glued to that little slice of white.

"I figured you would regret it, since the last time we had seen each other you made it perfectly clear how young I was," Andy continued, her heart racing over his admittance of "me too."

"And then?" He prompted as the silence stretched.

"I went back to Vancouver, finished college. I was accepted to the police academy right away. Then assigned to the 45 Division out there. Before I knew it, three years had passed."

"You never came home. You never called me. It was like you disappeared off the face of the planet, Andy. Your dad wouldn't even give me updates on you," Sam said anger evident in his voice.

"I asked him not to. I think he knew something had happened between us. He wasn't happy about it, so he agreed to not say anything. By that time, his drinking was affecting his work. I knew it was a matter of time before he was asked to retire."

"I wanted to hate you," Sam confessed, his hand tightening against hers when he felt her pull away. "But I couldn't. I could only think about how beautiful you were that night. That night surpassed every fantasy I had ever had about you," he said with a grin.

Andy blushed. She glanced back to see Liam was ignoring them in a way to suggest he was actually paying very close attention to them.

"So, are you going to tell me the whole truth?" Sam raised her left hand to show her he had seen her lack of ornamentation.

"I married Derek two years ago in Vancouver. He was a bomb tech for ETF. He had been a soldier and was injured overseas, but missed working with explosives, so he joined ETF. We moved back to Toronto about a year ago."

Sam waited holding his breath. Now was when she'd tell him that she had a daughter.

"Derek was killed in an accident seven months ago. It was a homemade bomb at a meth lab."

"What?"

Sam wracked his brain trying to remember if there had been news reported about an officer killed in the line of duty. Then he realized he had been in deep cover with Anton Hill and wouldn't have had access to the news beyond what was going on in their backyard.

"I'm not married, Sam. I've been a widow for seven months. It's been difficult to take the rings off. Some days it's easier than others. Traci has actually been a big help with moving on."

"But, the guy and baby this morning?"

"Sam Braddock from SRU and his daughter. He and his wife, Jules, came over to visit with me. I had a few things of Derek's I wanted them to have. I haven't seen my goddaughter since her baptism," Andy explained with a small smile.

Sam just stared at her, allowing all the worry and frustration drain away.

"I should have told you when I first realized the rumors going around the division. I just didn't know how to start that conversation. I thought I could just ignore it and maybe another source of gossip would begin, but apparently nothing ever happens at 15."

"Andy, I'm so sorry about your husband," Sam started, finally getting his brain back online. In his relief to hear there was no husband standing in his way, he forgot that she had buried one and was still grieving.

"Thank you."

They sat in silence, their hands clasped still. Andy felt lighter for telling him the truth after keeping it from him so long. Sam warred with himself, being delighted he had a chance with her again, but knowing Derek was still very much a presence in her life.

"I really surpassed your every fantasy?" Andy finally asked with a sly grin, her eyes twinkling at him.

Sam chuckled and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. He could feel a blush start and to stop a dimple from popping, he stuck his tongue in his cheek before glancing over at her.

"And then some," he finally responded, grinning widely at her shocked gasp.

She giggled and bumped her shoulder against his. "Shut up."

Sam laughed out loud, dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her body into his. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then tucked her head under his chin. She leaned against his chest and for the first time in a long time breathed a sigh of contentment.

"You wanna get out of here?" He asked softly, his tone reminiscent of a time seven years ago.

Andy peered up at him.

She lifted up and kissed him softly on the lips, her hand braced on his thigh to keep her steady. Sam shifted his arm around her shoulder to allow his hand to cup the back of her head. He deepened the kiss, tilting his head to slant his lips across hers, his tongue stroking her bottom lip.

"Definitely," she replied when they parted.

**A.N. I apologize for the long delay in getting this out. I hope this was worth the wait. I might add the M rated version of the flashback as a one-shot, but I'm not sure if I want to go there. I think it's obvious what happened between them and I wanted to keep it relatively clean for this version, especially considering Andy was 21 and Sam was 33 (I figure he's 12 years older than Andy – at least in this AU version)**

**A.N.2. Reviews are most welcome. Criticism is encouraged. Bashing is not acceptable.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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